The Long Way Around
by gryffindors x
Summary: My sweet, sappy, little version of the cliche, 'what if Dom and Mia had a sister' story. A love story centered on 18 year old Anita Torretto and Leon.
1. Doubt

**The Long Way Around**

**Disclaimer: **I obviously own nothing associated with the Fast and the Furious, Universal Pictures, the directors, producers, or the cast and crew in the movie. Songs, movies, bands, or any other trademark products are not mine either. No profit is being made from writing this story, and certainly no copyright infringement is intended. I am merely a fan writing a story.

**Author's Begin Note: **So this started when I recognized an actor from Black Hawk Down. I knew he was from the Fast and the Furious, and he played the character known as Leon. And since Black Hawk Down is a bit depressing to watch alone, I decided to switch to TFTF. I was inspired to write one of those cliché, classic what if Dom and Mia had a little sister?

Well, my version of the littlest Torretto is eighteen year old Anita. She's got a bit more of Mia in her than Dom – she's a huge fan of books and music and such. A bit conserved with a deadly temper, Anita's always had a bit of a bite to her bark. She separates her school life from her home life, and at school she is close with a boy named Wyatt. I'll introduce him soon. Leon and Anita have always had a small spark, but nothing noticeable by Dom. Leon's managed to keep the attraction underway and maintain his role as the protective guardian.

This story takes place over a period of time, but starts in May, after Anita has graduated. Anyway, here's my shot at it.

**Playlist: **The following songs are songs I recommend listening to while reading this chapter. I'll do this with every chapter, so you know what I was listening to and what inspired me while writing the chapter. "Black Horse and the Cherry Tree" by KT Tunstall, "Watch Your Back" by Benny Cassette, "Jump Around" by House of Pain, "Pass That Dutch" by Missy Elliot, "The Trouble With Love Is" by Kelly Clarkson, "Twisted Transistor" by Korn, "Shut Up" by the Black Eyed Peas, and "Headlock" by Imogen Heap.

**Chapter One: **Doubt

It was a bright, sunny, Saturday morning in May, and normally Anita Torretto would have already been awake, enjoying a great book on the Torrettos' front porch, but this morning was different. In fact, that previous Friday night had been different.

Anita lifted her face from the pillows that were most definitely not hers. Her dark hair cascaded over her face, and she hastily brushed it away, turning to the other side of the bed, finding an already awake Wyatt Durden lying there. Anita ignored his smug expression and climbed over his bare chest to get to the alarm clock sitting on his nightstand. It was already nine-thirty. "Shit," she mumbled and jumped out of the bed, reaching for her jeans. She pulled them up over her underroos and then pulled her hair back into a bun, similar to what it had been the night before.

Wyatt crept up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist, resting his chin on her shoulder. "Mmm," he mumbled and then murmured into her ear, "You're beautiful, you know that?" Anita paused as a grin made its way onto her face, but she knocked it off again by rolling her eyes and gently shoving his hardly-clothed body away.

"I have to go! Seriously this time, Wyatt. It won't be like last night, and you _can't_ coax me into your bed one more time!" she poked him in the chest for emphasis. "I imagine I'm already in huge shit with Dom."

She searched the floor for her other Vans shoe, and once she finally found it, she frantically slipped into it and turned to Wyatt. He was just standing there looking sleepy, and the sun pouring in through the windows behind him was already tempting Anita to stay. She titled her head to the side and admired his handsome face before shaking her thoughts away. Kissing him one last time, Anita headed for the door, "I'll be back later."

* * *

Once back at the Torretto household, Anita found all of Vince, Leon, and Jesse's cars parked outside. She slipped in the front door as quietly as possible, and when she turned to the steps to go change into different clothes, in hopes of fooling her siblings, she jumped with fright as she met Mia hovering above her. 

"Jesus Christ, trying to give me a heart attack?" she held her now fast-beating heart.

Mia frowned and snarled, "You better get upstairs and change or something. I told Dom you were at Liz's house." Anita nodded and obeyed, heading up the stairs. "Where the hell were you anyway?" Anita turned sideways on the steps and shrugged, "Can I tell you later?"

Her older sister just shook her head and continued on downstairs. Anita managed to take a shower and change into a sundress and vintage hoodie before she bumped into Dom in the hallway on the way back to her room. He still looked groggy and yawned as he greeted her, "Oh, hey. How was, um…" his train of thought got off track and Anita filled in the blank for him, "Liz's?" He nodded. "It was fine. We watched a movie and stuff."

Dom just nodded in agreement, and Anita could see the sleeping form of Letty on his bed through the slight crevice in the propped door. Dom headed into the bathroom, and still standing in the hall, Anita could make out the sounds of him taking a piss. _That_ was a carefully avoided sticky situation, she noted to herself and headed down to the kitchen to get some breakfast.

Once she had decided on toast and peanut butter, Anita sat on the counter waiting for the toaster to pop up her toast. Jesse, Vince, and Leon entered – Vince to get a beer, Jesse to grab another package of Pop Tarts, and Leon just followed, Anita assumed.

Jesse sneered at her sarcastically, "Nice dress."

"Nice shirt. I think you've managed to wear it for, what? Three days now?" she wrinkled up her nose at this boy who was the same age as her, but couldn't manage to change his own clothes. She liked the kid, though, and their friendly bickering was what made them such a fit match for pals.

Leon eyeballed her for a moment, or longer, and his gaze made Anita squirm. She hopped down from the counter and ignored that his eyes followed, and stood next to Vince. "Hey look," she pointed out the backdoor window. As soon as he had looked away, she snatched his beer out of his hand and dumped it down the sink. Vince turned back to her and gave her a dark look, "What the hell, woman?"

"Beer so early in the morning? It's bad for your liver anyway." She put her hands on her hips in a scolding manner and her face lit up with a smile when her toast popped up.

Jesse unwrapped his Pop Tarts and waved one in Vince's face, "You want one, big guy? Huh?" he led a very interested Vince out the door towards the backyard, where there was no doubt they were working on some car part.

And then there were two, Anita thought silently. Leon went through the refrigerator and found nothing he was interested in. Finally he pulled out a cigarette and attempted to light it, but it was snatched away by Anita, who was still eating her toast with one hand. "Disgusting," she hissed and tossed it in the garbage.

He rolled his eyes and put his lighter away and crossed his arms. She finished off her toast and had to take a drink of water. She glanced at him over the brim of her glass, and after dumping the rest in the sink, she asked, "What?"

Leon just shrugged and replied coolly, "Nothing," and took a long last look at her before going in the same direction Jesse and Vince had. Anita rolled her eyes and headed upstairs to retrieve a book she could read outside. Pride and Prejudice sounded appropriate. Anything Austen sounded good. She snatched the book off its shelf and went out the back door, where she sat on the back porch, reading. Occasionally her mind traveled to the guys working over by the garage, and then to Leon, whom she caught sneaking glances at her. He had been doing that a lot lately, she realized, and couldn't decide whether to ignore it or acknowledge it. She just read instead.

* * *

Later that afternoon, Anita went back to see Wyatt. His mother had not known she had stayed the night, so Anita's visit was a surprise to her. She was happy to see her, though, and even invited her to stay for dinner that evening. Anita kindly refused, however – she was scheduled to eat out with the "family". It was Jesse's turn to pick, too, so they would probably end up eating at Burger King for lack of any better ideas, and because he hated anything without a drive through. 

Anita rapped on Wyatt's door and found him sprawled out sideways on his bed, watching something on the television.  
"Hey there, buddy. What'cha watching?"

"A special about street-racing on Spike." He turned the volume down with the remote. "I'm glad you came, wanna sit down for a bit? There's something I have to tell you." He looked both troubled and amused at the same time, which made it awfully hard to tell what he was going to say.

She frowned and tucked a loose strand of dark hair behind her ear, "I would, but I can't. I promised…my brother I'd be back to help him with something." It was really Leon, Vince, and Jesse, but she hadn't bothered to tell Wyatt about those three specific details of her life in the whole three years they had been dating.

"Oh," was his soft, one-worded reply. "Well, um, my mom's taking me out of town for a couple of days, but I'm driving back on Friday. No parents for the weekend. Some guys from school are having a huge summer slash graduation party. Think you could drop by then and we'll talk?" He ran his hand through his hair.

"Um, yeah, sure," she agreed and gave him a grin. "But I gotta head back now." She planted a kiss on his cheek and turned to leave. He turned the volume on his show back up and she shut the door, leaving him as she had found him.

* * *

Once back at home, Anita searched the house for Jesse or Leon or Vince and found no sign of them. Mia was at the dining room table studying for some summer class she had signed up for at the community college, and as much as Anita hated to bother her sister when she was studying (she herself hated being too), she stood by the side of the table and waited for her sister to look at her. 

Finally she did, tossing her pen down and resting her chin in her hand. She looked distressed, but her voice didn't show it, "What can I do for you?" Her people skills working at the store really paid off for her sometimes.

"Have you seen Jesse? Or Leon or Vince? I was supposed to help them with something."

"Yeah, they're in the backyard. Oh, and if you see Dom out there, tell him I need to talk to him about a car that was left at the shop yesterday." She rubbed her forehead silently and then picked up her pen, beginning to work again.

Anita nodded and headed through the kitchen and out the backdoor. There the three be, in the backyard, and playing…baseball? "What the…did you guys still need that help?" she called to them from the back step, shielding out the sun with her hand.

Vince turned around at the wrong moment – Jesse threw the ball to him and it hit him in the back. Jesse and Leon burst out in snickers, and Vince just gave them a rude hand gesture. He then smiled and spread his arms out, "Anny Nanny! Wanna play some ball? We were doing two versus one, but it's kind of hard with only one batter or one in the field. Mia won't play with us," he concluded with a look of grudging longing on his face.

She furrowed her brow in confusion, "Um? You wanted me to play _baseball_?" She thought it would have been something easy, like helping out with cars. She wasn't really into sports; about the only thing she did was running and swimming. Anita cast a look at herself, "I'm not in the right kind of uniform anyway," she said, pointing at her sundress.

Jesse threw his hands up and whined, "C'mon, Anny! You can just change your clothes, and do your hair and make-up or whatever it is you do, and come out and be on my team!" He paused and grinned at Vince and Leon, "Even though it's not like I need the support, the way I'm whipping you guys."

Leon removed the toothpick from his mouth, his eyes widening and his lips forming an 'o', "Really now? Ha, Vince, you hearin' this?"

Vince laughed aloud and tossed the ball back at Jesse, aiming for his head with a bit of force. Leon sniggered and jogged up to where Anita was standing, still contemplating whether or not she should play. He took a drink of water from a bottle sitting on the steps and towered over her. He murmured in a low under-tone, "C'mon, just play. You can change into, I dunno, one of your cute swimming suits, or hell, you could just put on a cheerleading outfit and cheer for us right by home plate."

Anita narrowed her eyes at his haughty smirk. "Oh no, I'll be playing. Just lemme change. Into _decent _clothes," she added the last bit as an afterthought.

"Perfect," he replied as she stalked into the house. He whirled around and hollered to Vince and Jesse, "She's in, mans! Men! Whatever, dogs."

Anita reappeared outside a few moments later wearing black gym shorts and a blue and white high school track t-shirt that had 'Torretto' written on the back. With her hair in a ponytail, accompanied by a blue baseball cap, and tennis shoes with knee-high athletic socks, she pounded her fist into her glove. "Ready for me and Jesse to leave baseballs imprinted on your faces?"

Vince shook his head and smirked in his Vince-ish way, "Bring it on, Nanny." Leon just eyeballed her for a long time before picking up his glove off the ground and taking his position in the so-called field.

Jesse handed her the bat and she stood at the plate, taking a few practice swings. Vince stood at the pitcher's mound and batted his eyelashes at her, "Ready, Princess?"

"Just pitch it, Vincely." He shrugged and pitched a square ball, which she hit straight to Leon. She took off sprinting to first base, which was a floor mat taken from the inside of one of their cars.

Anita stuck her tongue out at Leon, who glared at her when he was unable to toss the ball to Vince, who was covering first base, in time. Jesse cheered for her and jeered at Vince and Leon from home plate. "Okay, Tubby, show me your stuff."

Vince frowned, "Who you calling 'tubby'? Are you saying I'm fat?" Jesse mocked him from his position, "Ehhh, are you saying I'm fat? Boohoo." Vince made for him and shoved him down, beating him all in a playful nature. Jesse laughed from underneath Vince, "Help? All the lard! It's suffocating me!"

Anita gasped and ran over to the scene, "Jesse! No, not Jesse! My one true love is gone! Where's the poison? Or the dagger? Oh happy dagger!" She imitated stabbing herself. She seriously needed to stop reading so much.

Leon rolled his eyes from afar and stalked over to where Vince was still laying on top of Jesse and appeared to be doing inappropriate things to the younger boy, who found it all very funny. Anita lay on the ground, twitching, a crazed grin spreading on her face. He knelt down by her side and debated which story he could incorporate. Perhaps Sleeping Beauty?

"I hereby declare thee dead unless thee is awakened by a kiss!" He lunged forward and she shrieked with what was either fright or amusement, and dodged his approaching puckered lips. "Leon, you goon!"

"It's aliiiiive!" Vince screamed and ran the other way. Jesse made a face that clearly said, 'What the hell?' through his spurts of laughter. But he followed Vince anyway, who was gathering gardening tools from the back step to use against the villain, who was apparently Anita.

She got to her feet and watched Vince and Jesse come at her with a rake and a hoe before jumping behind Leon and shoving him forward as her first and only line of defense. Leon let out a scream and took a stance, "Waaaah, don't make me use Kung-Fu!"

Both Vince and Jesse dropped their weapons and put their hands up in defeat before bowing down to Leon. Anita came out from behind his back and exclaimed, "My knight in shining armor!"

Jesse interrupted with a cry of, "Holy shit, shut up!" He ran over to a chair by the garage, where a beat up radio was quietly buzzing. He turned the volume way up, and the nineties hit 'Jump Around' was playing.

Everyone in the backyard burst out dancing, and as retarded as they all looked, Anita mentally admitted this afternoon was more fun than her original plans of watching Titanic and reading. She pulled her best disco moves as Mia entered the scene from the backdoor, watching in amazement as they all started shouting, "Jump, jump, jump, jump, jump, jump, jump, jump, jump!" and jumping up and down.

Mia crossed her arms and shook her head, a grin of amazement and ridicule formed on her lips. "_WHAT_ on Earth are you four doing?"

Vince broke out into a huge smile when he saw Mia, "Jumping around!"

"I can see that," she nodded and then continued shaking her head. Anita shoved Jesse, who, along with Leon, was jumping closer and closer to her, enclosing her into a sandwich, away.

"I've been taken to the Dark side, Mia, help!" she ran up to her sister while she emitted small giggles. The song ended and Mia grabbed Jesse's attention. "So what'll it be, Jesse? Fast food for dinner? Dom and Letty should be getting home soon. I hope."

Jesse pondered it for a minute, "Um…Burger King? Go through the drive-through and then eat it at the park or something?"

Anita rolled her eyes. She knew Jesse too well. Mia shrugged, but agreed. "Yeah, whatever you want. You kids better come in and wash your hands." She looked at Vince as she said this, even if her voice was full of sarcasm.

Vince was staring at her with that look of longing in his eyes, and he was only seeing her, not hearing her, and just nodded like an idiot. Once she had gone back into the house, Leon made a face at him and smacked him upside the head. "What was that for?" Leon shook his head and headed towards the house. "What?" "Nothing, that's what."

Jesse and Anita exchanged mocking goggly eyes at each other and they too went inside after Leon, leaving a rather confused Vince in the backyard.

* * *

Dom and Letty had rolled in around eight o'clock, and by the time he finished complaining about the drive-through, Letty finished convincing him to shut up, and everyone else finished getting ready, it was growing dark outside. Anita rode with Jesse and ordered a Whopper with fries and a cola – she was awfully hungry by that time, and sat with Jesse on the swings at the park as they ate. Everyone else ate at the picnic tables in the light from the nearby street, so the two teens had a chance to do their bonding. 

"So, bang any gorgeous women lately, Jess?" She grinned at her completely random question and devoured a few greasy, yet heavenly fries.

Jesse snorted and chewed a bite of his burger, "Ha, ha, _no_, sorry. How's McDreamy Boyfriend?"

Anita frowned and shrugged, "I don't know, fine, I guess. He's been looking at schools on the East coast, and I told him I'm staying in Cali, so we'll see how that works out. I suppose."

He nodded in the dark and ate his food in silence for a while, giving Anita's eyes time to travel over to the direction of the picnic table – to the place where Leon was sitting. It was easy to spot him. He wasn't as tall as Vince or Dom, but he was taller than both Letty and Mia. He was also the one that constantly slouched over. She sighed and took a large bite off her Whopper.

Jesse must've either been a mind-reader or could see well in the dark, because he commented, "Thinking about Leon?"

She turned abruptly to him. He was already finished with his food; he had rolled the wrapper into a ball and tossed his bag on the ground. He was now slurping on his drink. Anita was blushing in the dark, but covered it up with the reply, "What about him?"

He shrugged. "I was just guessing. Maybe you were thinking about the way he acts toward you. I don't know." He tossed his empty glass on the ground and pulled out a cigarette, lighting it with his pocket lighter.

Anita finished the last of her fries and took another bite of her ever-shrinking Whopper. She was sure glad she wasn't the only one noticing this sudden behavior on Leon's behalf. "You're saying you see it too? I thought I was maybe confusing myself or overreacting to it."

"Nah. I don't know that it really means anything, but you're not overreacting. It's definitely there." He exhaled and then took another drag of his cigarette. "The way I see it, if it really _is_ there, Anny, you and I both know these things don't just come and go for Leon. Nothing ever does."

She absorbed this, and as she took her last bites of her scrumptious, fatty burger, she nodded and told Jesse as she sipped on her cola, "I don't know, really. It's hard to tell anything with Leon, to be honest."

"That's true," was his soft reply in between drags.

As she sipped on her cola, her eyes slowly returned to resting on the spot Leon sat at the picnic table. But it was empty. Her eyes darted back and fourth, and Anita nearly fell out of her swing when she heard Leon's voice drawl, "What'cha two talking about?" He stepped out from behind the tree close by, hands in his pockets, a smirk plastered on his face.

"Um," she stuttered, "just…stuff. You know." She took a long sip of her cola and tossed it on the ground with a large amount of force.

"You weren't talking about me, were you?"

Jesse chuckled, "Of course we were! Who _doesn't_ talk about you?"

Leon sneered and ruffled Jesse's hair violently, "Point well taken, dumbass." He shifted and stared at Anita for quite some time before standing behind her and putting his hands firmly on her waist. He leaned over and whispered in her ear, "Don't use my name if you don't want me to know you're talking about me, mmkay?"

She stared straight ahead, his breath sending a tingly sensation up and down her spine. Or maybe it was his hands on her hips. She couldn't tell. But soon he removed them and pressed them to the small of her back, giving her a small shove. Gradually she rose higher and higher in her swing, and every time he pushed her, she got goose bumps. She could see the very dark form of Jesse swinging next to her, and soon he was at the same level with her. They played that game as kids. 'The Marriage Game', they called it. When they were level, they considered themselves married, and when they split, they created a nasty divorce scene in their heads. Jesse's was always 'you stabbed me with a kitchen knife', and hers was always, 'I found you kissing Mia'.

Anita couldn't help but giggle now, and Jesse called out, "We're married! Please don't stab me with the kitchen knife!" She broke out in a wide grin and tossed her head back. The night air was cool and as Leon pushed her higher, it cooled her face. Soon she and Jesse were split. "Maybe I found you kissing Mia!"

"I probably did. The little manwhore, I am." Anita laughed at this, and realized she was getting lower. She glanced below her, taking in that Leon was no longer pushing her. He was walking back to the picnic table, and in the silhouette of him walking away, she could tell he was facing her, arm outstretched, his finger pointing at her. He then turned away and walked back to the picnic table, sitting down.

She wondered how much of her and Jesse's conversation he had heard. Hopefully not much. Just enough to know they were talking about him. But that could've been the whole thing. As she leveled with the ground, she began to grow nervous. Worry consumed her mind on the entire ride home.

* * *

The first thing Vince and Jesse did when they got home was stick a movie in. It was, of course, The Godfather, one of their favorites. Mia ran off to her room to study before she got tired and had to sleep, and Dom and Letty reclined in the corner chair together, where they took turns whispering things in each other's ears. 

Anita, of course, was stuck making popcorn, and when she came in with the bowl full of buttered and salted popcorn, Vince pried it away from her hands rather quickly. She was not hungry after eating her big dinner, and sat down on the couch directly behind Leon, who was seated on the floor in front of the couch. She tried to focus on the movie, but the newest issue of Vogue was distracting her. She flipped through the pages and found an editorial featuring Kate Moss. She squirmed, trying to get comfortable to look at her favorite model, and kicked Leon in the back of the head in the process. "Sorry," she mumbled when he turned to glare at her.

After a while she finished with the magazine and glanced at the clock. It was nearing ten-thirty, and she was nowhere near tired. She tried once more to focus on Al Pacino, but the task proved difficult. She decided to try and call Wyatt to see if he was already asleep.

She stood, using Leon's shoulder for support, and stepped over his long legs, grabbing the cordless phone on the way out. She sat out on the back step and dialed Wyatt's number. He picked up, and though he sounded a little sleepy, she doubted he had been asleep this early. "Hey hon," she mumbled.

"Anny? Uh, hi. What are you…why you calling so late?" She thought she heard him shush someone.

"Late? It's not _that _late. Who is that?" Anita asked, glowering.

Wyatt mumbled, "Go over there…yeah, that's my dog. Sorry. I'm about to go to bed, actually. It's why I thought it was late. My mom's making me get up at six tomorrow morning, so."

Anita wrinkled her nose, "Geeze, early. Well, I'll let you get some sleep then. Love you, bye." But as she hung up, doubt filled her. She trusted her boyfriend, but something about that phone call was a little funny. Maybe she was paranoid. But she didn't think those noises sounded like a dog. She shoved the thoughts away and sat in the porch light taking in the night air. The door behind her squeaked and someone stepped out. It was Leon.

"Hey," she greeted him.

"Hey. What are you doing?" It seemed that all the males that surrounded her were so extremely nosy. Mia and Letty seemed to care less than any of the overprotective boys in her life.

Anita shrugged, "Just made a phone call, and I was getting hot in there anyway." She stared at her fingernails for a bit before starting with a little hesitation, "Look, when I was talking about you…"

She raised her eyes to meet his, but he was staring off across the yard, his jaw tightly clenched. He shrugged, "Whatever, Anita." He used her first name instead of Anny. He rarely did that. He was upset, she could tell.

"I hope you're not that mad." But she didn't know how much he had heard, so she said this with doubt too.

He turned at her, his eyes hardened over with anger, "Is it _too hard to tell_ that I'm just a little pissed off?"

Ouch. He had used her words against her. She honestly could not find words, for once in her life. "Leon…I…I'm sorry?" It sounded like a question. "I'm sorry."

He shrugged and sat down next to her, rolling his toothpick around between his lips. He studied her for a moment, and then removed the toothpick. She stared back, unsure of what he was going to say, or what she should say next. They sat there for what seemed like hours, and at one point Leon considered kissing her, but scolded himself for it. Anita stared until her eyes went out of focus, and his heated gaze started to make her squirm. Finally she looked away and decided it would be best to just get away from everyone for a while. She grabbed the phone, stood, and quickly made for the door.

Without stopping in the living room, Anita ran up the stairs and shut her bedroom door, just as Leon came in the back one downstairs. She leaned against the door and rubbed her face with her palms. _Now_ would she get any sleep before thinking about Leon?

She doubted it.

**Author's End Note: **This didn't take me long to write, but trying to write Anita's responses and actions was. I didn't want to make her turn Mary-Sue, but I think all original characters do, so I'll tell you now that I'm going to try and make her a little more flawed. Happy? I appreciate reviews, good, not bad. Bad is not constructive criticism, though. I hate flames, though, and can turn you in for harassment if you do submit one. I shall try to write the next chapter soon!


	2. Catastrophe

**The Long Way Around**

**Disclaimer: **I obviously own nothing associated with the Fast and the Furious, Universal Pictures, the directors, producers, or the cast and crew in the movie. Songs, movies, bands, or any other trademark products are not mine either. No profit is being made from writing this story, and certainly no copyright infringement is intended. I am merely a fan writing a story.

**Author's Begin Note: **Firstly, I would like to make a special thanks to my reviewers, Villana Del Amor, Calie, Kayla, and elaineakins, for their awesome reviews. I appreciate their praises and they've only encouraged me to continue with the story.

Next I would like to tell you that this chapter is where the action really starts to pick up, and by action, I mean action. This chapter is not necessarily romantic – in fact, it's more doom-like than anything else. Muaha. Anyway, I hope you enjoy.

**Playlist: **This time I bring you "Debonaire" by Dope, "Freak On A Leash" by Korn, "Dirty" by Christina Aguilera, "Rush" by Aly and AJ, "Perfect Situation" by Weezer, "Easy Silence" by the Dixie Chicks, "Home" by Three Days Grace, and "Makedamnsure" by Taking Back Sunday.

**Chapter Two: **Catastrophe

By the time next Friday, the day of Wyatt's return, Anita had spent too much time outside, reading in the sun, and had baked her already tan skin. Her usually faded bronze color was replaced by a tomato-like red, but after a couple days of aloe-vera treatments, she had managed to just look red. That particular Friday morning she had agreed to meet her best friend, Liz, at her house before the party. It was a stupid thing to do because Anita had only planned on staying long enough to catch up with Wyatt and talk about whatever it was he wanted to talk about. Now that she agreed to taking Liz, she knew she would be responsible for dragging her drunk ass home after the other girl drank so much she couldn't stand up on her own.

Anita spent a great deal of time convincing Dominic that she would not drink, and to assure him that she would be more risk-free, she agreed to walking, not driving. Now that she was stuck offering a hand to the boys in the driveway with a car part for a customer at the repair shop, Anita was somewhat eager to get away from everyone.

Jesse was interrogating her while she handed him tools, "So, lemme get this straight. This is a graduation celebration, yeah? Even though I _would have_ graduated with you guys but didn't, does this still mean I can celebrate with you guys?"

She handed Vince a wrench, "No. I mean, I'm not sure. I was told it was a summer thing too, but I really don't know how…er, welcome you'd be."

Leon smirked, "In other words, they think you're a loser, so don't go."

Anita cast him a dark look. She really wouldn't have minded if Jesse came along, but it was just that. Kids tended to give her a hard time about still being friends with him after he dropped out of school a year earlier. Besides, she told herself, she wasn't staying long. "Jess, I just don't think it'd be a good idea. I'm only going for one reason anyway."

Vince took a break to wipe his sweaty forehead with the back of his hand, "Ha, and what's that? The booze? The _boys_?"

"Nooo," she wrinkled up her nose at his comment and shook her head violently with a sharp look in her eye when Leon and Jesse started in laughing. "To talk to someone about something."

"Oh." Vince continued working, but a small grin played on his lips, "Is that code for sex?"

Anita rolled her eyes and pummeled him in the shoulder, hard. "You're all retarded." She ignored Leon's comment, "Oh, c'mon, Anny, we were just joking around," and decided it was about time to get ready.

Up her in her bedroom she decided on jeans and a v-neck halter, but felt violated, like she was showing too much skin with the top, so she put on a navy blue, zip-up hoodie over top. She unzipped it when she found she looked too conserved with it zipped up, and put her hair down to cover her exposed collarbone. Finally deciding she liked how she looked, she grabbed a wad of cash, her license, house keys, cell phone, and a stick of gum.

She quietly laced up her black Chucks in the downstairs hall, hoping to say goodbye to Mia without any hold ups on the boys' behalf. When she went to the kitchen to tell Mia she was leaving, however, she met all three of them.

"Meow! Darling, you better do something about that outfit – you could kill someone with it!" Vince flashed her a toothy grin, and Leon hollered in agreement, while Jesse circled around her, stopping on her left side to touch her shoulder with one finger. He quickly pulled it away and shook it like he had been burnt. "Ouch!"

Mia rolled her eyes and shoved Vince in the chest and turned to her, a sympathetic expression upon her face. "Leaving? You'll be back before midnight, right?"

Anita nodded and replied, "Before then, I figure. Depends on Liz, I guess." She searched the refrigerator for her Gatorade, took a sip, put it back, and turned to leave. "Buhbye!" She wiggled her fingers in a waving manner at Mia and the others.

Liz's house was located about five blocks away from the Torrettos', and by the time she arrived, Anita was pleased with her shoe choice. She rang the doorbell and was greeted by the very blonde, very tan Liz herself.

"Oh, shit, hold on. I'm trying to find my other earring. And my shoes. Could you go up in my closet and find the black heels with pink soles?" She was wearing a black mini skirt and a pink top, and by the looks of it, Anita guessed Liz was out to impress someone - a boy, probably. Hopefully a boy, not a girl.

Anita nodded and ran up the stairs and took the far left door. She got onto her knees and searched the bottom of Liz's messy closet. She eventually found both the heels her best friend had suggested and hurried back downstairs. Liz grabbed them hastily and muttered a thanks, putting them on.

Once outside, Liz stopped and asked in utter confusion, "Um, where's your car?"

"Oh, yeah, about that. It was an agreement I made with my brother. That I wouldn't drive – I'd walk. Sorry." She bit on her thumb nail, waiting for Liz's reaction.

The other girl, of course, rolled her blue eyes and waved a hand in a 'whatever' gesture. "Let's hurry it, then. I'd like to get there before tomorrow."

The walk to Wyatt's friend's house was relatively quiet with only spots of conversation. They could hear music thumping from nearly a block away, and upon arriving at the house around the time it was getting dark, Anita could see patches of people already scattered about the large yard.

Liz joined almost immediately with one of her close boy friends from school, and Anita went looking for Wyatt. She found him in the living room by a giant fish taking, drinking socially on a beer and talking with some other guys about his football scholarship. "Hey," she greeted him quietly.

Wyatt turned quickly and smiled, "Hey! About time you showed up! C'mon, let's get away from the noise." Wrapping his arm around her shoulder, he led her through the kitchen and out a side door. It was much quieter out on the deserted patio, and Anita swore she could hear her thoughts clearly again – if she hadn't before.

"So…what's up?" To be completely truthful, she had thought about this and what it could be about. She had driven herself to the point of insanity, and it made her a little nervous that she had put off this chat when she had.

He scratched the back of his head anxiously and sat his beer down on the patio's railing. "Um, well, I've been thinking. About the schools I want to go to, and stuff. And, well, _us_, really."

Anita stared him directly in the eyes and nodded for him to go on. She sort of had a gist of where this conversation was going, but she wanted to hear the whole thing from him.

Wyatt continued slowly, "And, well, if I'm gonna go to school in New York, and you're going to school here, long distance relationships can be a hassle, you know? I also noticed during this year that we kind of drifted…because of the different classes we took, and things we were interested in. Now, I don't know about you, but I have had the best time of my life these three years with you." He held her face in his hands now, "I love you, Anita, I really do, but I think you know by now too that it just won't work out from here." He waited for her reaction.

She took it all in slowly. Yes, he was right. She had known. In fact, she could have seen herself doing the same thing he was doing months down the road. As sorrowful as it seemed, she had trusted Wyatt's judgment and decisions. This would all turn out for the better in the end, she was sure of it. Anita nodded and looked up at him. "Yeah. Yes, I know it won't."

He gave her a brief smile before kissing her lightly. They pulled away from each other and were quiet for a moment. She forced a smile and reached up to ruffle his dark blonde hair. "It's all good." She sighed. She might as well leave, then. Or at least go find Liz and watch her until she wanted to go home – make sure she didn't drink too much. "Well, I'm gonna head out. I think."

Wyatt nodded and followed her into the house. Anita wandered upstairs and tried to find a bathroom. Finally finding one that was not occupied, she used it and took a moment to check her appearance. Still in check. She stared at her reflection in the mirror for a while. A small tugging feeling was pulling at her heart, and she allowed herself to grieve the loss of her three-year boyfriend. She did not cry – the breakup had not been a messy one, and it had all ended for a better cause in the end. She just did not feel the need for tears. Just as she was about to leave the bathroom and head back downstairs, she heard a familiar voice through the wall.

She glanced about the room for a second door, or a place to listen through the wall for a moment, and saw a door near the back of the room. She pressed her ear to it to hear the muffled voices clearer.

"Did you do it?"

"Yeah. I told her about the school thing. She fell for it, even though most of it was true. You know?"

A deep pit in Anita's stomach formed. That was Wyatt's voice. And he was with…some unidentified girl.

"That's great. Now we don't have to worry about her finding out about us, yeah?"

"Ha, yep. Just perfect." As she listened closer, Anita could make out sounds of the two of them kissing, and possibly even more.

Realization sunk in. Despite all the things that Wyatt had said seemed true, he hadn't dumped her for those reasons. He had ditched her for some other girl. _Now we don't have to worry about her finding out about us_. He had even been cheating on her before he dumped her.

Anita pulled her ear away from the door and leaned on it for support. She didn't know whether to feel angry, naïve, stepped on, or extremely sad, but perhaps this huge feeling of emptiness was a mixture of all of the above. Slowly she sunk to the floor, resting her back on the door, and put her head on her knees. It was there, in a total stranger's bathroom, that she let it all out.

She cried mostly for herself and her stupidity. Why hadn't she seen? Taken in the clues and signs? But there hadn't really been any. Wyatt had been such a large chunk of her life, and now that she did not have him there any longer, there was such a huge space to fill. Hot tears poured down her face and got her jeans wet. She lifted her head up and silently sobbed, wiping her tears and runny nose on her hoodie's sleeve.

She wanted to go home. Screw Liz. At the moment, Anita cared less if she got drunk and couldn't walk. Bitterness got the best of her, and she even wished the other girl she called her best friend got so drunk some stranger took her home. Let something bad to Liz. Bad things happened to everyone, and Anita decided then that she was starting to see that.

Grabbing onto the sink for support, Anita pulled herself up and splashed cold water on her hot face. She forced a smile in the sink to stop anymore tears from falling and then rushed out into the hall, down the stairs, and out the front door.

The cool, night breeze cooled her hot, tear-stained cheeks as she fled down the sidewalk in the dark, and the music of the party gradually began to die out. Anita made it almost four blocks without being disturbed, but as she turned onto the long street that went on for six more blocks before it reached her house, she heard a low hum of motors behind her.

Quickly she glanced over her shoulder and in the dark made out the figures of men on motorcycles of some sort, and a dark car followed behind them. None of them had their headlights on, and they were going extremely slow, as though they were following her. Anita quickened her already hasty pace, and before long, she was running.

Suddenly bright headlights flooded the empty street, and she turned to see what they were doing. She was immediately blinded, and couldn't see the tall guy step off his crotch rocket and come at her.

She tried to shove him off and make a run for it, but it only resulted in this guy hitting her square across the face. She could taste the coppery tang of blood in her mouth, and as a reflex, she held her hand to her jaw.

The lights were lowered a notch, and Anita could make out the face of her attacker. He was tall with an Asian ethnicity, and his name dawned on her almost as quick as it slipped from her mouth, "Tran."

"That's right, Princess. _Johnny_ Tran, to you." Johnny pressed her against the wall of the building behind her with his knee and arms and interrogated with his face awfully close to hers, "Tell me, Torretto, what are you doing out in the dark all alone?"

Anita kept trying to squirm out of his grip, but he kneed her hard in the stomach. She groaned and doubled over in pain, her head coming in contact with his shoulder. He yanked it back and threw it viciously into the wall once more, giving her an instant headache. "Huh? Answer my question, or Lance here will have to _encourage_ you." Another, yet shorter, guy of Asian decent appeared in her peripheral vision. He had a gun, and Anita could feel her heart start to pound in her chest; it was almost painful, and her head was causing dizziness, making her want to throw up on Johnny Tran's leather jacket.

"I was just walking home from, AH!" She paused and gasped in pain. He was continually yanking on her hair, and the last time had really hurt. "From a party. That's all, I swear. I don't know what you think I've done."

Johnny pulled her off the wall and forcefully shoved her back into it. Her face clenched in pain. "Is that so? Well, Princess, consider yourself lucky that I _believe_ you. It's not something you've done, but something your brother's done." He cast a dark look at her. "Lance, put her in the car. Put a bullet in her leg if she resists." He shoved Anita towards the guy with the gun. Johnny joined the rest of his gang on his crotch rocket as Lance speedily steered her to a black car parked in the middle of the street. She was too terrified to try and pull something again, so she went along with it all as she was forcefully shoved into the back seat and the car started rolling as quickly as the door had shut.

The backseat windows of the car were tinted so darkly that she could not see out of them, so Anita kept a sharp eye on the driver, another Asian guy with an odd mustache. After about fifteen minutes of driving through the night at a speed that she was sure was illegal, the car was parked and Tran dragged her out of the car, tossing her onto the cement floor of what appeared to be his garage.

There were many bystanders, members of Tran's gang, standing about the garage, and Lance was already in his gun-holding stance. "Stand up," Tran ordered her harshly, yet with a hint of boredom. "Search her," he bellowed at Lance as she shakily got to her feet.

Lance began patting her down, and she tensed up under his rough touch, and with all these people watching, she felt extremely violated. Finally he gathered her cell phone and tossed it to Johnny, that being the only valuable thing she had on her.

Johnny studied the phone, a nasty smirk forming on his face. He steadily paced the floor around Anita before grabbing her arms and jerking them behind her, binding her from any movement with her hands or arms. He opened her phone with his free hand and pressed a few buttons. Then, holding it to her ear, he commanded, "Tell Dominic he'd better bring those car parts to me ASAP, or his littlest sister's going to pay for it." Anita's stomach nearly lurched out through her throat when he mentioned Dominic and she heard the phone ringing on the other end.

Jesse's boyish voice answered the phone in what must've been the living room, for Anita could hear a loud movie playing in the background. "Yeah, hello."

Trying her best to find her voice and steady it, Anita swallowed and said, "Jesse? It's Anita, give the phone to Dom."

She heard him sigh and say, "Hold on." There was a muffled crash and soon Dom came on, "Hello?"

Anita nearly burst into tears when she heard her big brother's voice. She desperately wanted to cry out for him to come get her and undo all her injuries, both emotionally and physically, but she knew Johnny Tran would not hesitate to break one of her arms if she tried. "Um, Dom? I…there's someone here that says he needs car parts as soon as possible." She felt Tran tug on her arm, which made a slight stinging sensation in her shoulder. She shut her eyes in pain and added, "And he says if you don't do so immediately, he'll, um, I'll have to pay for it." A single tear rolled down her cheek.

Dom's voice was still calm, even after everything she had just told him, "Is it Tran? Anny, where are you? What's he doing?" It was then that she knew he was sincerely concerned for her. He yelled at the others in the room, "Would you turn that fucking TV down?"

Leon asked in the background, "What's happening?" Jesse replied, "Dunno, it was Anny."

Anita hesitated, not knowing what to say. Not wasting any time, Tran pulled the phone away, "Torretto, I suggest you and your pack move yourselves down here, or the Princess might just have to have a fun time with Lance. I'll be expecting you in the next fifteen minutes."

Out of pure desperation, Anita screamed at the top of her lungs, "Dom, hurry, he's got a gun!"

Johnny hastily shut the phone and tossed it across the floor. He pulled down on her arms, sending her to the floor, screaming in agony. "You just made the biggest mistake of your life, Princess." She hardly saw the blur of his fist strike her jaw. Nothing snapped or cracked, but more blood came oozing out her mouth. She decided it best to stay laying on the floor. The cold cement felt good on her burning cheeks anyway.

Minutes passed, and she tried her best to ignore the insults and threats Johnny and Lance passed her way. Anita only raised her head when she heard screeching tires and roaring engines outside the garage. The side door burst open and Dom, Vince, Leon, and Jesse all came tearing in.

"It's about time, Torretto," Johnny sneered. Lance's gun was no longer pointed at her, but now her brother.

Dom's facial expression was hard and clearly said that he was not to be messed with. "What do you want? I'd appreciate it if you left her out of this."

Johnny took a step closer to him, "My parts, Torretto. I had them imported, sources say you took them, and I want them back." He chuckled, "And she was just too _pretty_ to leave out of it. Wouldn't you agree, Lance?" He cocked his head to the side to see his cousin properly.

Lance nodded, an odd sort of grin on his face, "Oh yeah. Just too damn pretty." His words were slow and spaced.

Out of the corner of her eye, Anita saw Leon cracking his knuckles in a menacing manner. Jesse looked downright pissed off, and Vince looked as though he might attack someone at any minute.

Dom still remained calm. "I don't know what parts you're talking about, Tran. Your sources must not be very reliable. Now let her go, and maybe we can talk about it some other time." He indicated toward Anita. Lance narrowed his eyes and stepped next to her, pointing the gun directly at her head.

Both Leon and Vince lunged forward, but Dom held them back. Johnny paced the floor a bit and bellowed, "If it wasn't you, then you better start naming names, Torretto."

"I told you, I don't know who took your parts. And even if I did, I'm not a nark. You already knew that." Dom took a bold step toward Tran. "This is the last time I'm going to ask nicely. Let her go."

Tran looked extremely irritated, but seemed to go with Dominic's word. If what he had said was true, the people here were of no further use to him. He turned around and shoved Lance away from Anita. Grabbing her by the hair he walked her over to where Vince stood and shoved her into him. "Get out of my sight before I decide to leave bullet holes in your Nissans."

Anita latched onto Vince as he quickly led her out of the garage, followed by the others. As soon as the garage door was discourteously shut behind them, Anita made for Dom, who was standing with open arms. She locked her arms around his waist and sobbed into his shirt. He gently lifted her off the ground and carried her to his car, where he placed her in the passenger's seat.

Jesse muttered, "Let's get out of here, dogs."

Too tired and out of tears to cry on the ride home, Anita just pressed her forehead to the window and stared at the passing buildings. When they walked inside the house, Mia's reaction was that of a mother's, and Anita was grateful. She prepared fresh pajama bottoms and plain white tee for her when she got out of the shower and helped cover the gash in her cheek. Anita spent a little alone time in her room before walking into a loud conversation downstairs.

Vince and Leon were both yelling at Dom, "They've been pulling that shit for too long, Dominic, and you're telling me you're not going to do anything about it?"

"I never said I wasn't going to do anything about it, I just said now's not the time." Dom was rubbing his bald head.

Vince's face was turning a sickening shade of red, "And exactly when will that time be? When they end up killing one of us?"

Dom lunged at Vince and pointed a finger straight in his face, "No one's going to get killed here. You hear me? I'm not letting that happen. It won't get that far."

Anita slowly rounded the corner into the living room and stood by Jesse. Everyone quieted and stared, but then stared at something else as if to make it look like they weren't in the first place. Jesse glanced down his nose at her and then wrapped his arm around her. "C'mon, let's go outside or something."

Leon butted in, "Nah, let me go." He cast a dark look, one of the worst Anita had seen Leon give anyone, at Dom. "I could use the fresh air anyway."

He took Jesse's place and led Anita to the back step. He stared at his hands first, then the sky, then he took his toothpick out of his mouth and fiddled with that for a bit. "Do you want to talk about it?"

She really didn't know if she did want to talk about it. At least not the part about Johnny. Sure, she was scared shitless, but wouldn't anyone be? It wasn't that that bothered her the most. What bothered her the most was the reason she had been walking down that street. The thing with Wyatt.

She glanced away, trying to keep her tears at bay, but finally couldn't and leaned on him for comfort. He put his arm around her and tried his best to make her feel better, "Hey…hey."

"He ditched me. He ditched me for some girl, and then he lied about it. He told me it was because we were going to different schools in the fall. But then I found him…at the party. And that's why I left, and then Tran…" she shook her head and smiled. "I'm unbelievably stupid."

Leon looked thoroughly ticked off, "Wait a minute, who's this guy?"

Anita nervously answered, "Wyatt Durden? He's my…well, he _was_ my boyfriend of three years."

That was certainly a shock to Leon, whom she had managed to keep this little bit of information from. "Oh, cool. I mean, not cool, but you know. Whatever. And you're not stupid, if that makes you feel better."

She smiled up at him and pulled away. "Yeah, it does. Thanks."

After a bit longer of sitting outside, the two went back indoors, and Anita headed to bed. She slept the best she had in weeks.

**Author's End Note: **I'm not too terribly satisfied with the outcome of this chapter, but I had to show in at least one chapter how protective of Anita the guys are, etc, etc. A bit of relationship background, I guess you could say. Anyway, next chapter will pick up where the gang is introduced to Brian Earl Spilner. Woooooo.


	3. Thrills

**The Long Way Around**

**Disclaimer: **I obviously own nothing associated with the Fast and the Furious, Universal Pictures, the directors, producers, or the cast and crew in the movie. Songs, movies, bands, or any other trademark products are not mine either. No profit is being made from writing this story, and certainly no copyright infringement is intended. I am merely a fan writing a story.

**Author's Begin Note: **So here continues the story of Anita Torretto. I am on chapter three, after three or four days of working on this fiction story. I am pleased with my progress, and I appreciate everything everyone is doing to encourage me.

To my reviewers – elaineakins, Kayla, Calie, Villana Del Amor, SkylineO'Connorbabe, LadyOfThePlains, rebelwilla, and LaLa – I dearly lurve you for taking the time to comment! Means a lot to me.

This chapter gets into the solid storyline given in the movie, and it really starts to pick up the relationship between Anita and Leon. So, enjoy and read the end note at the bottom when finished, hee.

**Playlist: **This time it's pretty much anything in the movie that goes along with these scenes. Any dance music you like for the party, and my favorite love song, "This Modern Love" by Bloc Party" for the last scene of this chapter.

**Chapter Three: **Thrills

It had taken a little under a week for Anita's bruises and cuts to fade away and even less time for her sore arms to heal. She was reminded of the beating she had taken from her brother's enemies, however, every time she looked in the mirror and saw the slowly healing gash that had once been her worst injury. She was reminded of all the events of that night, and she often found herself losing focus on things going around her, just so she could think about Wyatt.

Anita missed Wyatt. So much that it made her chest hurt if she thought about him for too long. She tried to read, her favorite hobby, to pass the time, and she helped out more at the store and the repair shop to keep herself occupied.

She saw a slight change in the so called gang's behavior for a couple days after the incident – Mia nagged on her less, Dom kept checking up on her, Jesse stopped offering to talk for the fear of upsetting her, Vince acted even more protective than ever, and even Letty was kind-hearted, when usually she was the one that merely called her girl and treated her as she did Mia. The only person Anita didn't see a change in was Leon. Leon was still the protective brotherly-like figure, such as Vince and Jesse, but that was just his outside appeal. By now Anita could see through it all and was absolutely positive that there was something more behind the heated staring. Exactly what, she had yet to find out.

Friday morning already, and Anita found that she could not get back to sleep after being woken up by the bright sunlight – she had forgotten to shut her blinds the night before. She laid there until eight-thirty and finally concluded that she could not lay there any longer. So she got up and sauntered into the kitchen, still in her pajama shorts and white tee, and poured herself some Captain Crunch.

Sitting down at the dining room table with Jesse, Vince, Leon, and Letty, Anita scanned through the front page of the newspaper but soon discovered listening to Jesse talk about his plans of upgrading his car was more intriguing. She chewed in silence and watched the glances back and fourth between the boys and the similar silence façade on Letty's behalf.

Mia stumbled into the dining room with her car keys to announce, "I'm heading down to the store. See you guys around lunchtime?"

Vince waved his coffee mug at her and informed her, "Uh, Dom already went down there."

She flashed a smile at him, "In that case, I better get down there soon. Later." She headed towards the front door.

Letty muttered a, "See ya, girl," Jesse merely waved, and Vince uttered, "Yeah, catch you later, Mia. Yeah, at lunch. See you then. Bye…" and watched her until she went out the door.

Leon shook his head at Vince, like he always did whenever his friend was making a complete fool of himself. Vince narrowed his eyes at Leon and shrugged, turning to Letty.

"Yeah, there's been this faggot coming to the store every day for lunch. He orders the same shit every time, and I'm sick of him trying to make a pass at Mia, you know what I mean?" He sniggered and gave Jesse a light shove in the head, "What's it that he orders? A, uh, chicken on white or something."

Anita, who had spent most of her working time at the store with Mia, rather than the shop (she often felt like she was getting in the way at the shop), knew exactly who this guy Vince was talking about was, and she knew exactly what it was that he ordered. She spoke up in a bored drawl, "It's tuna on white with no crusts."

Everyone stared for a moment, and through a glare, Vince shrugged her off, "Yeah, that. Whatever. I'm thinking about teaching him a lesson today."

Letty stood up to rinse off the plate she had used for eggs and toast, "Just chill out, V."

Vince made a face of offense at her back and turned back to Leon, who was lazily smirking. Jesse chuckled and flipped through a magazine he had been looking at ever since the start of his breakfast. The smirk Vince had returned to Leon slowly faded away and he turned his attention to Anita, who was just finishing her Captain Crunch and now drinking the remaining discolored milk in the bowl. "Wanna play another game of baseball to kill time before we gotta go down there for lunch?"

Anita shrugged, "I dunno, it's kind of getting hot already." She stood to take her bowl to the kitchen, but was cut short by Jesse. "Let me help you with that." She yanked the bowl back. He had been doing that sort of thing a lot since the incident. "I don't need help with it."

She took it to the kitchen and rinsed it off, then stood in the dining room doorway, arms crossed. "I have to take a shower first anyway."

Vince wiggled his eyebrows, "You need any help with that?"

Jesse 'ooh'ed and nodded, standing up too, "Yeah, need any help with that one, Anny?"

Leon rolled his eyes and stalked over to her, patting her stomach on his way into the kitchen, "C'mon, you know we're willing to help you in the…stickiest situations. Though I'm not sure how sticky _that_ one would be."

"You guys are perverted," Anita muttered with a face of disgust as she made her way to the stairs. "I'm going to take a shower," she shouted over her shoulder. When she heard the boys moving to follow her, she sneered, "And I _don't_ need your help."

* * *

After drying her dark hair and pulling it up into a loose bun, Anita went downstairs, taking two steps at a time. She found Letty watching some show on the television in the living room and the others in the kitchen. Vince was leaning against the refrigerator drinking a Corona, Leon was sitting on the counter watching Jesse, who was leaning over something in the sink. 

"What are you doing now, Jess?" she curiously inquired when only Vince and Leon acknowledged her entrance. Jesse jumped and held this something down low in the sink as he turned to her, a goofy grin playing on his lips. "Uh, nothing."

"Sure, okay." She was about to take a peek at it when he held his closed hands up to her and started advancing on her. "W-what is it?" she asked nervously.

Leon jumped down from the counter and fiddled with his toothpick, the same mischievous smirk plastered on his face. Vince set his beer down and stood behind Jesse, putting his hands on his shoulders. "Oh, it's just a present for you, Anny. We found it hanging out on the hood of Leon's Skyline."

Anita began to back up. She hated critters that were smaller than a cat or a rabbit. She also hated insects. They made her skin crawl, and she couldn't stand to be around them. "Seriously, get it away from me. Whatever it is."

Jesse opened his hands a little to let her get a peek at it. From what she saw, it was a frog-like thing. Probably a toad. Her eyes widened and she took another step back, making a run for it, but Leon got behind her and held her back by her shoulders. He was chuckling madly under his breath, and she tried to shove him away, but he was a lot stronger than she was. Jesse was absolutely grinning like a mad man now, and as he advanced on her he exclaimed, "How would you like it down your shirt?"

Anita screamed and buried her face into Leon's shoulder, knowing she'd get stuck with a toad down her shirt. She screamed and squirmed, hitting Leon's arms. The guys had a few more moments of laughs before Jesse articulated between breaths, "Okay, okay, I'll get rid of it." She heard the door open and then close, and she lifted her head up, shoving Leon away.

"You're all evil incarnated, fucking assholes," she narrowed her eyes at Leon and Vince and battered Jesse in the chest.

"Ooh, watch your language, Nanny!" Vince giggled, a very un-Vince-like thing to do, and picked up his beer again.

She glared at Leon as she shoved past him and went to sit with Letty. "C'mon, Anny, we were just having fun!" Leon shouted after her.

Anita sat down on the couch next to Letty and pretended for the next two hours to be engrossed in her show in order to keep the bullies in the kitchen away.

* * *

When lunchtime rolled around, Anita rode with Letty in her red Nissan to the store. Letty got out of the car and took a second to take a glance at the place before shutting her door and stepping up onto the sidewalk. Anita hastily shut her door and joined her side, where Jesse was pointing out a flaw in Vince's engine. Suddenly Vince interrupted Jesse mid-sentence, grabbing his jaw and showing him a red truck, the same one this guy that visited Mia every day drove, parked across the street. 

Vince sneered, "What's up with this fool? What is he, sandwich crazy?"

Leon joined Vince's side on the sidewalk, "No, V, he ain't here for the food, dog."

Letty interjected, "Chill out, bro, he's just slinging parts for Harry, man."

Slowly they all made their way into the store. Vince argued with Letty, "I know what he's slinging."

Leon smirked, "He's trying to get in Mia's pants, dog."

Jesse and Leon walked along the aisles of packaged food and the rack of sunglasses. Anita silently followed as Mia greeted everyone. Vince sat down next to this guy that came to the store every day and acted generally aggressive to him, Anita observed from where she stood with the others.

Jesse grabbed a package of chips and tossed them to Leon, who immediately opened them and began eating some. Jesse then started to try on glasses, though he did that every time he came to the store. "Oh, he's beautiful." He was referring to the kid sitting at the bar.

"I like his hair cut," Leon added. Anita snickered and teasingly slapped him in the arm, though she enjoyed nit-picking at the guy. She reached in to grab a chip and chewed it slowly, still watching the scene about to happen.

Soon the guy was up and leaving, and Vince followed, shouting something about getting fast food instead of stopping at the store. Leon mumbled, "I love this part."

As the three watched, Vince shoved the guy, but was immediately punched for it. It was the start of a street brawl. Mia and Letty were shouting for Dom, who was sitting in the back, to interfere. Dom strode out to the street and everyone but Mia followed.

Dom shoved Vince off the guy, "Don't push it! You embarrass me!" Leon gave Vince a forceful shove, "Get over there!"

Anita observed as Dom and Jesse identified the guy as Brian Earl Spilner. Dom asked, "You work for Harry, right?"

"Yeah, I just started," Spilner informed him.

"Well, you were just fired," Dom declared and stalked off back to the store.

The scene cleared off when Spilner took off in his truck, and the guys decided to head home. On the ride home, Letty mentioned a race occurring tonight, and something clicked in Anita's head. Wheels turned, and she was surprisingly interested in attending this race, even though she had witnessed plenty before.

* * *

Once back at the house, Anita cornered Jesse. "Jess, I want to go to the race tonight. Take me?" 

Jesse took a drag of his half-smoked cigarette as he tried to repair the old radio they kept by the garage. "Why? I don't think I can, not that I would. I doubt Dom wants you to go."

Anita rolled her eyes in aggravation and lowered her voice so the others wouldn't hear, "Oh, c'mon. That's bullshit and you know it. Let me come. I'll stay in the car. Dom doesn't have to know."

He shook his head as he messed with the tuning knob, "Mm, no, I don't think so. Sorry. The last thing we need is for you to get wrapped up in the street-racing world." He was referring to what had happened last weekend, and she knew it. She groaned out of pure irritation and stalked off to sulk in her room for the rest of the night.

* * *

Dinnertime came, and Anita only came out of her room to grab a couple slices of pizza, which she devoured in her room. Around ten, she heard a knock on her door, just as she was starting to lose interest in one of her Agatha Christie mysteries. "Yeah?" 

Much to her surprise, it was Leon. He stepped in and shut the door behind him, then turned back to her, one hand in his pocket, the other messing with his toothpick. "Look, I know you want to go to the race tonight."

She narrowed her eyes at him. How did he know about that? He was a little eavesdropping bastard, she thought to herself. "Yeah, so? Jesse won't take me." She shut her book and tossed it on her nightstand.

"Well, we're leaving in a couple hours, and I'll take you." She sat up a little straighter and listened a little more intently at this comment. "You won't get much action as far as the race goes, but I watch the scanners for cops and stuff. If you stay down low, Dom won't know you're with me." He shrugged and opened the door again. "Think about it, and if you still want to go, be ready by twelve."

Anita jumped up off her bed and dashed over to him. Standing on her tip toes, she planted a kiss on his cheek and nearly squealed, "I love you forever and ever, amen."

Leon looked a little discomfited, but he smiled at her and shut the door behind him.

* * *

It had only taken five minutes or so to decide on black jeans and a plain, sleeveless black top and style her hair to keep it from frizzing out, so to keep her excitement under control, Anita had to listen to music and bop about her bedroom. She lurked outside by the back step around midnight as instructed, trying not to be seen by Dominic and the others as they slipped out the front door one by one and got into their cars. Leon's car was parked closest to her, by the garage, and he was standing by it, taking sideways glances at her. He told Dom, "I just gotta do something first. I'll catch up with you guys." 

Dom nodded and got into his car, driving off at full speed, followed by the others. Leon turned to Anita and waved her over from her crouching position by the backdoor. "C'mon, let's go." She stood and strode over to the car, getting in, and slamming the door shut. Leon got in on the opposite side and started the engine, shifting to reverse and jolted out of the driveway. Soon after speeding about twenty over the speed limit, they caught up with the rest of the moving cars.

Leon explained to her as they drove, "Now when we get there, you have to stay low in the seat, 'cause I gotta orientate and all that shit. Then we go block the street and watch the scanners. Got it?"

"Yep," she nodded once and continued staring straight ahead. She had to chew on her fingernails to keep from smiling out of satisfaction.

Soon Leon stopped the car in a street that was jammed with people and cars. Anita quickly slid down in her seat so that she was out of view, but she could still see people out her window. Leon met up with Dom, and there was an exchange of words and money. Anita recognized one of the guys as Brian Earl Spilner from earlier. But before she had time to react, Leon was in the car again and they were speeding off.

They parked diagonally in the middle of a side street, cutting off a man in a pizza delivery car. Leon leaned out the window and shooed him away, "Street's closed, pizza boy. Find another way home."

The man swore at them and backed up before taking off again. Leon turned to Anita with a smirk, and she laughed aloud.  
"Nice…"

He shrugged, "It's what I do," and messed with the scanners for a bit. A woman's voice announced a murder at some liquor store, and Leon copied it into the walkie talkie, "We're good to go, let's race!"

"Will we see the race from here?" Anita asked as she peered over her shoulder to see the street that was cleared for racing.

"A little, when they go past here, yeah," Leon informed her and turned the volume on the scanner down a bit. He turned to face her and inquired, "So why'd you want to come, anyway?"

Anita inhaled and shrugged, "I'm not really sure." She was sure of the reason, though. Lately she found that she did not want to be stuck alone, especially at nights, because she was afraid thoughts of her loss and the traumatic incident would get to her. She also had three months of summer to kill, and she had always been curious about her brother's and his friends' double lives.

Street racing intrigued her for many reasons. She had grown up around cars, and she never grew tired of them. She knew how to work a car, could drive one very well, and knew how to fix one. Though she was nowhere as good at driving as her siblings and friends, she did not always feel half way ignorant about engines while around them.

Leon kept an eye on her while he nodded in agreement as though he understood, even though he really didn't. She had never gone before, so why start now? He couldn't say he didn't enjoy her company however, and this brought another classic Leon smirk to his lips. When she started staring out the window, he took it as an opportunity to scan her appearance. Her deep, dark, blue eyes quickly darted back and fourth, taking in the outside happenings. Her eyes were accompanied by thick lashes that fluttered when she was nervous or deep in thought, often when she was reading. Her dark, shoulder-length hair was left down, cascading around her tan shoulders. He had always liked her hair. It was about the same color as Mia's, but unlike Mia's, hers had a slight curl to it. Oh how he would have liked to reach out and run his hands through her hair.

And before he realized it, he had indeed reached out for her head, touching a piece of her hair, twirling it between his fingers, "You've got pretty hair," he found himself saying, and he mentally berated himself. He sounded like Vince.

She raised a sardonic eyebrow at him and giggled softly, "Okay then…" She rolled her eyes and continued glancing out the window.

There was a roar of approaching engines and suddenly, as quick as the sound had come, there was a blinding flash of colors speeding past them. As far as Anita could tell, the one in lead was a red one – Dominic's. Coming up close behind him was a green car, Brian Earl Spilner's. She waited, her head sticking out the window, for the outcome of the race during the next few minutes. She caught drift of a nearby group's conversation, "Dude, Torretto schooled that bastard!"

Anita broke out into a grin and turned back to Leon, "He won! Dom won."

Leon didn't look so surprised. Satisfied, yes, but surprised, no. "C'mon, did you really expect anything different?"

"Ha, not really. Good point," she leaned back in her seat and watched as he turned the scanner back up. The woman was now saying, "We've reported street racing…"

Leon's eyes widened as he grabbed the walkie talkie and frantically said, "We got cops, cops, cops, GO!" He tossed the walkie talkie to Anita and threw the car into drive, squealing the tires as he took off. Anita thought she nearly got whiplash, and she clutched the door handle tightly as they flew down city streets at eighty miles per hour. They managed to escape the main route of all the racers' cars and Leon cut his speed nearly in half as they cruised along dark residential streets.

Anita frantically kept glancing over her shoulder to assure herself cops weren't following, but a huge smile was stuck on her face. She couldn't hold it in any longer, the thrill of what they had just did was getting to her. "Holy shit! Holy shit, Leon!" Her tongue was sticking out the corner of her mouth as she tugged on her hair for dramatic effect. "That was…that was just…HOLY SHIT!"

Leon gazed at her as he swiftly turned a corner, "Impressed?"

Her eyes got even wider and her smile spread, "Did I mention holy shit?"

He laughed, "Yeah, you might've."

She bit on her tongue to keep herself from squealing with glee, "That was amazing. See, this is why I need to get out more! I'm missing out on the fun stuff! And here I thought Agatha Christie was fun." She crossed her arms and admirably stared at Leon. Abruptly an idea popped into her head. She scooted closer to Leon so she was within arm's reach and pulled the black stocking cap off his head, "Leon, could you teach me how to drive like that?"

Leon snorted and shook his head, "I imagine you'd get tired of it after a while, Anny."

"Oh, no! No, not at all!" she leaned her head on his shoulder, and waving her hand around by the roof of the car she explained in a dreamy voice, "Just imagine it. You teach me how to drive like that, and you and I could be racing partners! We could beat out Dom and make millions of dollars! Ehhh?" She grinned up at him and wiggled her eyebrows at what seemed like an astounding offer to her.

"Sounds like a plan," he agreed with her. He used the road as an excuse to look anywhere but at her, even if it was empty and motionless. "But it looks like Jesse and Vince brought some buddies home," he pointed to the now approaching house as he parked his car in the driveway.

Anita made a cross look at all the cars parked on the street near her house, and she turned up her nose at all the loud music and booze that was inside once she and Leon opened the front door. Leon slowly parted from her and started greeting people, one of which was a blonde in leather pants whom he called Brittany.

She felt a little awkward just standing in the hallway, ogling at Leon and this girl…woman…whatever she was, and wondered where Jesse was. Quickly she squeezed between a couple of guys standing in the doorway and found Jesse playing tonsil hockey with a dark-haired girl. The girl was pretty and vivacious as far as Anita could see, and she couldn't help but smile at how inexperienced Jesse looked with her.

Anita grabbed an unopened Mountain Dew and sat down on the tabletop by Jesse and his unidentified girl, "Hey Jess, who's your friend?"

Unnerved by his pal's sudden appearance, Jesse pulled out of his kiss and glanced at Anita, "Oh, hey. Um, Anny, this is Carly, Carly this is Anny. She's like my long lost sister or something," he explained to Carly, who flashed a smile at Anita.

Jesse cocked an eyebrow at Anita, "What are you…" he seemed to be losing his train of thought, "what are you doing?"

She shrugged and took a sip of her drink, "I think I'm gonna go upstairs and read in Mia's room. She's studying yeah?" Jesse narrowed his eyes in thought and nodded. Anita continued, "Yeah. Later," she waved at the two and made her way back to the living room. She stopped in the doorway and gave Leon the purest look of detestation she could muster, and she made sure he saw it clearly before she took off up the stairs.

* * *

So she was a little jealous. So what? She had deserved Leon's attention more than that probably dim-witted blonde did, and he was even giving her that attention before they got home. Slamming her own bedroom door shut, instead of going to Mia's room, Anita set her Mountain Dew down and fumed for the next fifteen or twenty minutes. 

As she was changing into a different pair of jeans and a purple-blue, Western-style shirt, Anita saw the headlights of a taxi stop in the street. Her brother and the man Anita now well knew as Brian Spilner stepped out and started up the walk. Anita frowned and wondered why her bother didn't have his car as she finished pulling her hair up into a mix of braids and a pony tail.

After reorganizing her books, making her bed, and cleaning up the clothes off her floor, Anita decided she couldn't do much more upstairs and decided to go back down and drift about the party. She sauntered down the steps just in time to meet Dom and Letty going up, both looking quite content. As she landed on the downstairs level, Anita saw Mia shove Vince away from Spilner, telling him to 'cut the shit'. The two went off to get Mia a drink.

Leon drawled out, "Oh, c'mon, Mia, we were just about to get along!"

Anita saw _Brittany_ sitting on the chair Leon had previously been occupying, with her on his lap, and cast a dark look at Leon. Vince looked a little pissed about Spilner whisking Mia away, so Anita stalked up to him and wrapped her arms around his waist in a sisterly hug. "Poor V. Just keep on wishing, brother. Keep on wishing."

Jesse burst out in laughter and Anita pulled away, delivering Jesse a high five. Vince mimicked the two's laughter sarcastically and sighed, going off to find another beer. Anita and Jesse's laughter subsided and she acknowledged Carly's presence before strolling into the kitchen, which was occupied by people coming in and out to get beers and other drinks.

Upon trying to edge around someone with their head stuck inside the refrigerator, ass sticking out to Mars, Anita bumped into someone. "Oops, I'm sorry!" She turned and laid a tender hand on the arm of the person.

The person happened to be a tall, younger guy with darker hair and a clean cut shave. He had a friendly smile and a devious glint in his eye, and Anita bit on her lower lip to keep from blushing.

"It's all good. It was my fault anyway," the guy replied casually. "Sorry…what be your name?"

She giggled quietly and answered, "Anita."

"Ah, Anita. Sorry, Anita." He held out his hand to be shaken, "I'm Kory. Kory Garrison."

Anita smiled up at him, "Nice to meet you, Kory Garrison," and shook his hand.

Their pleasant moment was quickly interrupted by the low, raspy voice of Leon, "Salutations, fag boy," he sneered at Garrison, who stood his ground and glared back at him. Leon squeezed his way in between Kory and Anita, and gave the boy a small shove in a manner that showed he was either protective or possessive of Leon.

Anita passed a sympathetic look at Kory before edging around Leon and stepping out the back door with a new can of cola. She opened it and took a long drink before sitting down on the grass. She put her can down before laying on her back and sprawling out, taking in the slightly cool air. She heard the door close and footsteps thudding on the stairs. Glancing up from her upside down view, Anita saw it was Leon.

She quickly jumped to her feet and hissed at him, "What are you doing?"

Leon made a face, "What am I doing? I'm coming outside, what's it look like I'm doing?"

"No, Leon, what are you doing?" she gave him a look that clearly stated she was not to be fucked with. Not at that particular moment.

He took several steps toward her so that he was only a foot or two away from her, "No, Anita, tell me what the fuck _you're_ doing? Who the hell was that?" he pointed at the house, but she knew he was talking about Garrison.

Anita squirmed under his hot glare and spat, "I just ran into him, would you chill out?"

"Oh, sure, and I just ran into Brittany too. You're full of shit, you know that?"

"I'm full of shit? Excuse me, but I really did just run into him." She took a step back and crossed her arms.

He took another step forward, "So you're telling me you didn't just use him to get back at your jealousy?"

She stepped back yet again, "Jealousy? I hardly think there's anything there to be jealous of."

Leon narrowed his eyes and raised his voice, "Don't try to cover it up, Nanny, it's just a _little_ obvious when you send death rays at me from across the room. And would you stop backing away from me? Pretty soon I'm gonna have you up against the garage."

Anita took three steps forward, nearly standing on his feet, bringing her face inches from his. She then screamed, "YOU MAKE NO SENSE! All the insinuating remarks, all the staring, but it doesn't mean shit! So if it doesn't mean anything to you, then it doesn't mean a thing to me!" She stepped around him, ramming her shoulder into his, and started to storm off across the lawn.

But Leon caught her arm and violently whirled her around. He did not hesitate to press his lips against hers. He had wanted it for some time now, and she had only brought it about more, the way she fueled his anger, which seemed to make him even more attracted to her.

Anita froze over, not really knowing what else to do. But she quickly found the nerves in her hands and brought them to his face as she returned the kiss, but only for a second. With the hold she had on his face, she pushed him away and walked off without a word.

Licking the taste of his lips off hers, she flung the door open and went straight to her bedroom, where she changed into her pajamas and laid under the covers, pretending to sleep, even when Leon stuck his head in to see if she was awake. If she wanted to talk. If she wanted to finish what she started.

She did, but she didn't.

**Author's End Note: **The end! No, not really. Just the beginning of a really long, bumpy ride, actually. Oh, and Kory Garrison? The kid comes into play further along.

If you would like to see played-bys for my minor characters in this story, see my profile page.

And one more thing, do you guys think Leon, Jesse, and Vince live with the Torrettos?


	4. Tension

**The Long Way Around**

**Disclaimer: **I obviously own nothing associated with the Fast and the Furious, Universal Pictures, the directors, producers, or the cast and crew in the movie. Songs, movies, bands, or any other trademark products are not mine either. No profit is being made from writing this story, and certainly no copyright infringement is intended. I am merely a fan writing a story.

**Author's Begin Note: **Four chapters! Count 'em! _Four!_ I'm excited. Who else is excited? I've never updated a story day after day after day – I usually run out of ideas.

Again, thank you to everyone that's reviewing. I'm getting more and more each day, and they just bring smiles to my face. Love you guys, keep it up. Oh! And thank you to those that helped me with the question concerning housing accommodations.

Onto chapter four!

**Playlist: **"Whenever, Wherever" by Shakira, "Positive Tension" by Bloc Party, "Family Business" by Kanye West, "Taper Jean Girl" by Kings of Leon, "Pistol of Fire" by Kings of Leon, "I Will Dare" by the Replacements, "Mr. Brightside" by the Killers, "Why Georgia" by John Mayer, and "This is Such a Pity" by Weezer.

**Chapter Four: **Tension

Working in the garage with Jesse was always something Anita had enjoyed. Usually it was just Jesse and Anita because Jesse loved being in the garage, and Anita loved hanging around Jesse. If they were not getting anything done, which was often the case, they were geeking out with the radio blasted.

And that particular Sunday afternoon that's what the two were doing. They had the radio tuned into a station that played catchy beats, such as the current "Whenever, Wherever" by Shakira. Vince had just taken off to go grab a bite of lunch, leaving the two alone, and they were using wrenches as microphones to wail their off-key notes into alongside the enchanting voice of Shakira.

Jesse busted a freakish-looking move, sending Anita into a fit of laughter, "Lucky that my breasts are small and humble…"

"Oh no, please stop, you're killing me, Jess," she leaned against the car they were supposed to be repairing (Spilner's, to be exact) for support – she was laughing so hard.

"I wouldn't mind touching Shakira's small and humble breasts," Jesse smirked and murmured, "Mmm, mmm, good."

Anita grinned at him and lip-synched the last line of the song into her wrench-mic. Some horrible R&B song came on, and Anita made a face at it, turning the volume down so she could talk to Jesse at a normal level voice as they worked. She handed him tools and watched him twist, turn, and tighten things.

"So…" she really didn't have much to say. She would have liked to talk about what happened with Leon because it had been bothering her all day. She successfully managed to avoid Leon that whole morning, and intended to keep it up for as long as necessary. She was still angry with him, even if she had secretly admitted that night in bed that she had overreacted a little tiny bit, but she also could not help but think about the kiss. Whenever she thought about it, she brought her fingertips to her lips and then caught herself doing it. The whole day so far had been a cycle of wanting to hit Leon, and then beating herself up instead.

"So what?" Jesse asked as he worked.

Anita shrugged, "I dunno. Carly? She seemed cool."

He nodded and shook his head, a crooked smile forming, "Yeah, she's cool and more. I found her a week ago or sometime around there."

"Oh, that's cool," she nodded slowly and drifted back into her reverie of confusing thoughts.

Jesse noticed the pained faces she was making and offered his ears for listening, "A penny for your thoughts?"

She sighed, "You don't have a penny, Jess."

"Okay, you can have the lint in my pocket. What's up?"

Snorting, Anita took a deep breath and picked her words carefully, "Just something that happened last night."

"Yeah, I saw that you convinced Leon to take you. How'd you manage that one?" he wiped his greasy hands on a towel.

Anita frowned. "I didn't convince him…he offered. And that's not what it's about, actually." She crossed her arms, "I'm thinking going to the race last night was a bit of a mistake. Either that or going with Leon."

Jesse raised an eyebrow at her, not fully understanding what she meant.

"Whatever I tell you stays between us, yeah?" He nodded and her trust in him was reassured. "Okay. Well, you know the somewhat unclear situation between me and Leon? I figured, hey, a free ride to the races. Now I'm either paranoid, or Leon was making passes at me while we were down there, but when we came back to the house, I pretty much felt blown off. He claims I was jealous and maybe I was, I'm not sure."

He absorbed all this and nodded, urging her to continue. She took another deep breath and went on, "So I met this kid. His name was…Garrison. I don't know what Leon's problem was, but he was being a complete ass to him, and then I got into it with Leon, then he tried to make out. Basically. That's just the gist of it."

She was silent in waiting for his reaction. Jesse merely rolled his eyes, "You two have got to be the most complicated people on planet Earth."

Anita looked confused. "Huh? How so?"

Jesse explained, "Well, clearly he's not saying what he's thinking, and if you were indeed jealous, there's a reason why. You're either an attention whore, or you share the same feelings he has for you. You guys just need to kiss and make up. And then maybe kiss some more. Am I right? Tell me I'm right."

This was never pointed out to her. She turned the idea over in her head and agreed reluctantly, "Yeah, I suppose. Maybe."

"Yes, then I should be a psychiatrist. Man, did I pick the wrong occupation." He looked thoroughly smug with himself and went back to work, leaving Anita alone to her thoughts.

* * *

That evening Dom and Mia threw together a barbeque for the gang, and Spilner was invited too. Anita helped out Mia and Jesse in the kitchen, though she and Jesse pretty much watched Mia and Brian toss the salad and gather the chips and dressing and other appetizers. Anita kept taking glances out the window at Leon, who was busy playing basketball, and then back at Jesse, who was explaining to everyone in the room his future plans for Brian's car. Finally Mia finished tossing the salad and by that time Dom was yelling at her from the backyard. 

"I'm coming out already!" Dom and Mia exchanged sibling love, and Anita and Jesse passed huge grins at each other as they set food down on the table. Anita took a seat between Jesse and Brian, rather than at the end by Mia and Leon. This left a spot open for Vince, if he were to come back from his little hissy-fit fest, and that way he would not have to sit by Spilner.

Anita grabbed a napkin as Dom was saying to Jesse, "Hey, hold up. Because you were the first out of everybody here to reach in and get the chicken, you say grace."

Jesse muttered an, "Oh," as everyone clasped their hands together.

"Dear heavenly, uh…" he broke off at a loss of what to say.

Leon butted in from his place at the opposite end of the table, "Spirit."

"Spirit, thank you," Jesse continued as Leon nodded in a 'you're welcome' manner, "Uh, thank you for providing us with a direct port, nitrous, uh, injection, four core intercoolers, and ball-bearing turbos, and um, titanium valve springs."

Everyone said, "Amen," and applauded. Anita patted Jesse on the back as Letty commented, "He was praying to the car gods, man."

Everybody began digging into the food and filling their plates when suddenly Leon burst out, "Look who it is, Old Coyote's 'R' Us. I thought you weren't hungry, pumpkin."

And there behind everyone Vince stood, looking sorry for himself and muttering, "You know, I gotta eat."

Letty rolled her eyes, "He's always hungry."

"Alright, sit down," Dom ushered him over. Vince kissed his best friend on the top of his bald head before sitting down. Leon handed him a beer and Vince took a swig of it, casting a dark glance at Brian, who sat across the table from him.

In an attempt to break the ice, Letty pounded him on the back, "Let's eat some grub, man."

The whole meal was filled with pleasant, cheery conversations, and Anita only had to confront Leon once. She was in the middle of a lengthy conversation about swimming pools with Jesse, and how they wanted to pitch together some money to buy one when he asked, "Anita, pass me a piece of watermelon?"

She paused and glanced at the watermelon, wondering if she could get away with spitting on it before passing it to him. Quickly she grabbed a slice and handed it in his direction. Briefly she met his eyes, and even after she had gone back to chatting with Jesse, she could still feel the glare he was sending her way.

* * *

Later on the boys stuck in a movie that Vince had rented, which turned out to be a total work of trash, and Leon and Jesse had even gone out back to grab small car parts to tune and fiddle with. Letty had cuddled up with Dom in their chair, and Anita was stuck sitting on the couch behind Leon. Again. 

Occasionally she would doze off, her face in her hand, but a large explosion would wake her up again. She had just dozed off again when Vince came stomping into the room and shouted at Jesse, "Make your own goddamn popcorn!" when he had asked if there was no more.

Anita rubbed her eyes and watched Vince's retreating back. She decided she needed something to entertain her, and while scanning the dim room, her eyes fell on the back of Leon's head. Quietly she grabbed a magazine off the nightstand and opened it, flipping through the pages absentmindedly. When she was half way through the magazine, she kicked Leon's head roughly and then hastily gazed at the magazine on her lap to cover up her smug look.

Leon turned once to glare at her, shook his head, and then went back to the movie and his part. Anita smirked and kicked him once more. This time he turned fully around and gave her a nasty expression and looked as though he might say something, but didn't.

One last time she kicked him, and finally he burst out, "Is there something you want, or do you just enjoy kicking me?"

Anita flipped through more pages of her magazine and smirked, "I just enjoy kicking you. Why? Is it a problem?"

"Yeah, you're killing off my brain cells by doing it," he muttered and turned back around.

She laughed. "Leon, you never had any brain cells," she commented flippantly.

"Ha, ha, aren't you just so funny?" He narrowed his eyes at her, even though he wasn't facing her.

"Yep, I am. Too bad you're not." She faked a yawn and tossed her magazine away, "And you're also boring the hell out of me, so I'm leaving. Goodnight!"

She stood and made for the stairs, but Jesse spoke up, "Do you wanna finish that game of Scrabble with me and Leon? You know, the one without rules?"

Anita stopped and considered this. She was in a challenging mood, and she was the master at Scrabble. She was also bored and not tired at all, so a game like that would do her good. "Sure! Only if you two aren't gonna wimp out. Does V wanna play?"

They found Vince sulking on the front porch, and after a five minute debate, they managed to convince him to come inside. The four of them sat down at the dining room table as Jesse set up the board. The game really started to pick up after fifteen minutes, and the board was filled with inappropriate words, names, and words that everyone had made up.

It was Anita's turn, and by miracle she managed to use all her letters to connect to the word 'nass' which Vince claimed had a meaning, but had originally been 'ass'. She put down 'Leon is a' and formed 'Leon is an ass'.

"I wiiiin!" she threw up her arms in triumph, as Jesse burst out in laughter.

"Guess we really know what the girl thinks of you, Leon."

Vince chuckled, "Oh, buuurn."

Leon frowned and retorted, "That doesn't count, it's all one word. That's not in the dictionary!"

Anita shot back, "Well then we'll just add it! It can be a noun, and the definition can be 'the behavior of a person that constantly acts like a butthead and no one likes'."

"Can I make up my own word then? Maybe it can be Anitaisaheinousbitch? The definition can be 'an illness a person gets when they always have premenstrual syndrome'," Leon came back with and leaned back in his chair, self-satisfied.

"Ooh! That's a nice one! I'd like to see it get into the dictionary without making you look like a sexist pig!" she exclaimed and took notice of the ever-growing silent Jesse and Vince watching the scene.

Leon shrugged, his arms crossed, "It's America, honey, people could care less about the sexist pigs in our country anymore."

Anita closed her mouth, nostrils flaring, and sat glaring at him, her arms crossed also.

Jesse and Vince glanced back and fourth between the two. Jesse spoke up, "Well, _that_ was fun. I think we'll call it quits, and me and Vince won equally."

"What?" Anita cried out. "I won!"

"Nooo, you didn't," Leon corrected her.

"Yes, I did!"

"No, you didn't!"

"I did too!"

"You did not!"

"Ugh, shut up!"

"You started it."

"Bite me, Leon."

"Gladly, where?"

Anita stood up quickly and stormed off across the room, shouting over her shoulder, "I hate you! I hate you all!" The three remaining guys sat at the table looking a bit dumfounded, but Leon was smirking, nonetheless, and Jesse looked like he might start laughing.

Soon Anita came stomping back into the room, her voice still raised, "Except you, Vince, I love you!" She placed a violent kiss on his cheek and started off in the other direction.

Jesse looked completely shocked and gasped, "What about me?"

"You too!" she came back and kissed the top of his head, "I love you, and there's nothing you can do about it!" She edged around the table and pressed her hand against Leon's face, giving it a hard shove before stalking off again.

* * *

The rest of the evening was spent in Anita's room, reading her worn out copy of Across Five Aprils and listening to the Clash. A bit of a peculiar combination, she admitted, but both were her two of her favorites, and anything that distracted her from her current situation was a saint. Around two o'clock she zonked out, book by her side, light on her nightstand still on, and music still playing. Eventually the CD in her CD player stopped, and Anita stirred in her sleep now that the only soothing sound keeping her dozing was the fan in her window. 

After the second movie downstairs ended, Dom and Letty came upstairs. Letty made a right turn into Dom's room to wrap herself in the peaceful solace of sleep, while Dom wandered into Anita's room. He could not help but smile when he saw the book idle by her side. He then covered her up, and put the book on the nightstand, turned the light off, and stood in the doorway watching her sleep for a moment before shutting the door.

* * *

Morning rolled around too early for Anita, who was usually a morning person, and she stumbled down the stairs to fix herself a bowl of oatmeal and read the newspaper. Dom and Letty were still sleeping, as was Mia, which was odd if you knew Mia well. Anita sat down at the dining room table where the other three boys were. Vince was sitting with his cereal pushed the side, untouched, and face down on the table. Jesse was currently trying to tape a 'kick me' sign to his back. Leon had to stifle his laughter every time Vince would raise his head to glance around whenever Jesse tried to press the tape down on his shirt. 

Finally he could not hold it in anymore when Jesse missed and taped the sign to the back of Vince's head on accident when he raised his head to see what Leon was laughing at. "What the fuck are you doing, assface?" He grabbed at the back of his head and read the sign. "Ha, ha, you're gonna pay, Jesse. As soon as I get some sleep."

Anita shook her head without taking her eyes off her newspaper and commented, "You guys are immature,"

Leon turned to face her and asked, "Did you get over your Anitaisaheinousbitch disease?"

Other than flashing a sarcastic smile at him, she ignored his question and asked another, "How was your girls' sleepover?"

Vince answered from his face-to-the-table position, "Don't ever spend a whole night with Jesse. It's enough to kill a guy."

Jesse objected, "Hey man, I wasn't the one who gave me all that caffeine! You're the one that kept yelling at me to chug all those Dews!" Leon smirked and nodded, "Yeah, that was your bad, dog." He shoved his half-eaten eggs away and pulled out a toothpick, placing it between his lips.

Anita stood to go rinse off her bowl, and Leon took his dishes and followed her into the kitchen. They stacked their dishes by the sink, and for a moment they were out of Jesse and Vince's sights. Leon saw this as an opportunity to say something to her, so he stood behind her and murmured in her ear, "Better take your pills. I wanna cure you of that little virus you have."

Slowly she turned around and came face to face with him. And they were literally face to face – sort of. Her nose was touching his shoulder – he was that much taller than her, and being this close to him made her want to squirm. She looked up at him and said, "Leon?"

"Yeah?"

She gave him a huge shove, sending him back a good few steps, "MOVE."

* * *

Anita spent the next few hours driving with Dominic to buy some last out of town parts for the ten-second car of Spilner's. She listened to the music Dom wanted to listen to all the way there, and then watched, listened, and carried parts to the car once they got there. Dom let her drive on the way back, which was a shock to Anita – he had only let her drive his car once, and that was after she had gotten her license. 

He made small talk with her for about ten minutes before getting serious and saying, "Look, Anny, I know I've been a little out of the loop lately. We've got some stuff happening on the side, and I've been more focused on that more than anything. Sorry if you've felt that I'm not around as much to talk and stuff. 'Cause you know you can talk to me, yeah?"

She made a small smile and turned her head briefly, "Yeah, I know I can. And it's okay, really. You're still around. It would probably only bother me if you were never at the house." She appreciated her brother's sibling love at that particular moment. She knew she couldn't talk to him about the thing with Leon because he'd freak out if he found out, and quite frankly, her behavior hadn't changed too much. She was usually that snarky and sarcastic. It was when she was quiet that Dom worried about her. The conflict with Wyatt and Tran had made her turn that way, and she and Dom had sat down and had a long talk about that. He explained most of the story behind the Tran versus Torretto squabble, and she had explained to him the saddening story behind Wyatt Durden. It had felt good to reassure her source of love and comfort in her older brother.

As they drove along, Anita couldn't think of anything else she really wanted or needed to share with Dom. And he was satisfied knowing she was not uncomfortable with his lack of parental figure, so they rode the rest of the way home in silence, except for the casual spur of conversation and stopping at McDonald's for lunch.

* * *

The long drive tired Anita, so when she got home, she decided to curl up on the couch with her Scooby-Doo blanket, which she had to search for and found in Jesse's room, and take a nap. She snoozed for an hour or so and drifted off to dreamland. She dreamed about the day Dom taught her to drive. She had been twelve years old, and she had naturally been good at it. He only raised his voice once, when she almost side-swooped a car parked on the street. It was an extremely fond memory, and the remaining two hours of the afternoon Anita spent aimlessly wandering about the house, stuck in Memory Lane. 

Vince had always been a part of Anita's life. He was Dom's best friend, and therefore always around. He practically lived at their house and Anita fell in love with him when he snuck into the kitchen and stayed up all night with her baking cookies after her parents had told her she couldn't.

Jesse. She had known Jesse all her life. She had gone with him to school, and though she had thought he was a freak at first, always fidgety, obsessed with cars, a bit of a loner, she grew to like him when he stood up for her on the playground one day. As they grew up, Jesse got more and more into cars, and Anita grew even more fond of him because of her familiar background with cars. In the rough years she spent with Wyatt Durden before he stopped tormenting her and started having an attraction to her, Anita had been stood up by the boy at a school dance, and Jesse had been there to take her. The following week she brought him home, he fell in love with her brother, and never ever left her life.

That same year, when Anita was fifteen, Leon walked into her life. She was still somewhat shy and insecure around strangers, and she hadn't liked him at first. Even though he was usually nice to her, she was wary of him until the day she learned how to change the oil in a car. Dom had been grumpy that day and raised his voice to her when she asked him to change it for Mia, and she had moped around for a while before Leon dragged her into the garage and showed her exactly how to do it. He had been sweet and encouraging about it, but he was also had a joking manner.

As she thought about this, Anita was sitting at her mother's neglected piano in the dining room, and she felt a little guilty for overreacting to that night and treating Leon badly afterwards. She frowned, pounding her elbows down on the dusty keys, which created a large, foul-sounding chord, and decided she had better make it up to him somehow.

* * *

That night after dinner Dom and Vince had scurried off to their cars and took off, saying something involving Brian and his whereabouts. Later they received a phone call from Dom, asking Jesse to accompany them on a trip to raid Johnny Tran's garage. Leon had wanted to come, but a smug Jesse argued with him that Dom had only called for him and not Leon. After Jesse took off, Leon laid sprawled out on the couch, his arms crossed, looking glum. 

Letty came ambling down the stairs, paused halfway down when she saw that the only other two people in the house were Anita and Leon, made a confused face, and went upstairs again.

'And then there were two,' Anita thought. Her eyes grew wide, 'Whoa, déjà vu!' and she wrinkled her nose.

She sighed aloud and stood, "You want something to eat?"

Leon didn't take his eyes off the television, which was showing Spongebob Squarepants. "If I say yes, are you gonna make something and then eat it in front of me?"

Anita shook her head stiffly, "Maybe…No, I won't."

"Then, sure," was his vague reply.

She sauntered into the kitchen and grabbed the bag of Cheetos and a beer for Leon. She sat down and handed him the beer, opened the bag, took a handful of Cheetos, and passed it to him. He ate a few while watching Spongebob and then rolled over onto his stomach so he could see her. "What's with the mood change? I'm starting to think you're mentally ill."

Not really sure what to say, she just shrugged. "Whatever, Leon. I'll be fine as long as you don't hook up with anymore hookers."

He blinked once, "Fair enough." He sat up and motioned for her to take a seat on the couch instead of on the floor. She slowly stood and then sat down again, this time quite close to Leon. She reached around him to grab the remote and began flipping through channels for something interesting to watch. Finally she decided on Saturday Night Live, even though it was a rerun. She sighed and let her head rest on his shoulder.

Leon tensed up for a moment, but relaxed again. He looked down his nose at her and saw that she was looking up at him. Something clicked, and his pressed his lips to hers. She sat up straight and kissed back. Her arms rested on his shoulders and he held her waist. Seconds turned into minutes, and after more than five minutes, they were interrupted by the sound of the door opening, followed by loud voices.

Both Anita and Leon quickly pulled away, and he immediately brought his beer bottle to his lips while she scooted over a bit, remote in hand. In under a second they looked like they had just been enjoying SNL.

Jesse took his shoes off in the hall and came stomping into the living room, an annoyed look on his face. Anita could tell why – Dom and Vince soon entered, hollering at each other. "I'm telling you, he's a cop!" Vince was saying, and Dom just waved it off as they took the argument into the kitchen. Jesse grabbed Anita's Scooby-Doo blanket off the armchair and squashed between Leon and Anita. He snuggled up to Anita and sighed, "So what's on the tube?"

Anita grinned and rested her head on Jesse's, "There is absolutely nothing on, Sugar Booger!"

Leon stared longingly at her for a long time before watching the TV as Jesse flipped through the channels. Channel after channel after channel. It was all a blur, but Leon didn't care. He was hardly thinking of anything but her.

**Author's End Note: **Whee! If you've followed this story this far, please please please, PLEASE review! I'll love you for it, promise!

And, dude, you guys are lucky you got this chapter as soon as you did. I worked on it for an hour and then accidentally deleted it all. Good thing I have a photogenic memory, though, right? Right.

Exeunt.


	5. Sanctuary

**The Long Way Around**

**Disclaimer: **I obviously own nothing associated with the Fast and the Furious, Universal Pictures, the directors, producers, or the cast and crew in the movie. Songs, movies, bands, or any other trademark products are not mine either. No profit is being made from writing this story, and certainly no copyright infringement is intended. I am merely a fan writing a story.

**Author's Begin Note: **To all the fans, so sorry this update took me so long! School turned into a monster for me, and to be honest, my muse for this story died, but then I woke up one morning and decided to work on it some more. I really, really hope this post satisfies you guys. I'm working extra hard on it. You also get a glimpse of the character you met in chapter three, Kory Garrison. I like him a lot.

Woo! Onto the chapter.

**Chapter Five: **Sanctuary

Over the few days after the kiss, the being that was Leon was all that Anita Torretto could think about. Leon plagued her mind, her thoughts, and even her emotions. She often caught herself studying him - the way he stood there, the way he walked, talked, sat, his every motion. She watched him so much that it became obsessive, so, in hopes to solve her problem, she locked herself in her bedroom. But that did not stop her from thinking about him. She would think of one more thing about him that remained unanswered, like his eye color, so she had to come downstairs once more to satisfy her infatuation.

Blue. His eyes were blue. So there it began, Anita's so called 'crush'. She thought back to when she had last had a serious crush. She did indeed crush obsessively over Viggo Mortensen, but her last real life crush had been on Wyatt Durden, her previous boyfriend of three years. It felt a little awkward, Anita admitted, to fall for someone all over again.

She could not tell Jesse, and she had no girlfriends to tell - she hadn't talked to Liz since that evening of the party. So Anita kept it to herself, and it ate her alive. She did not understand how Leon could conceal what he must have been feeling so easily. Anita was starting to doubt herself. Either Leon was very good at hiding things, or he really did not feel anything at all.

Finally all her doubts, worries, and hunger for one more bit of love - or infatuation - were satisfied when she had a chance to talk to Leon alone in the back room of the garage while everyone else was busy helping a customer determine the problem with his engine.

Anita was fidgety - she was tidying up Jesse's computer desk while Leon grabbed a beer out of the mini-refrigerator and sipped it slowly. After a few sips, he set it down and watched her stack papers and set discs by the computer with her back turned to him. She paused for a moment, collecting her thoughts, and then started, "Leon…" she turned around, prepared to give him a lengthy speech about just telling her if he did not want anything to do with her, but she was interrupted by his lips upon hers.

She kissed back freely, her hands roaming from his shoulders to his neck, where they stayed while the two embraced in a prolonged kiss. Soon she was running out of breath, as was he, and he was smirking against her lips. She pulled away and drew out, "Leon, should we really be doing this? I mean…"

He merely shook his head, "Doesn't matter, does it?" and kissed her once more.

Anita did not object and ended up kissing, or technically 'making out' for the next five minutes. By that time the two decided the others would soon come searching for them in need of extra hands to help out with the new to work on. So they went back to work, and back to pretending they had not just locked lips for a second time in one week.

That evening Leon and Anita got stuck doing the dishes. Vince was supposed to help, but had ended up gradually wandering into the other room between commercial breaks of a movie that Dom, Letty, and Jesse were watching in the other room. Mia had gone out on a date with Brian Spilner, which was the main cause of the two of them getting stuck with dish duty.

They worked in silence until they were done cleaning and drying and putting away, and when they were sure no one was coming into the kitchen, they enveloped themselves in another passionate kiss. When they pulled apart, it took all Anita had to keep from smiling too much, and Leon just stood playing with her hair, a small smirk of triumph playing on his lips. He distantly looked troubled, and Anita took notice. She had, after all, been watching him for the past few days. She knew his every facial expression.

"Something wrong?" she asked quietly.

He let go of her hair and wrapped his arm around her neck. "We're going out tonight. The guys and Letty and me."

Anita tilted her head to the side, "Going out where? To a race?"

"Yeah, sort of. Sort of like a race," he nodded slowly while looking at the ceiling as though it was offering guidance in his word choice.

"Well, can I come?" her face was now lit up. She had very much enjoyed the thrills attending a race had offered to her the one night she had accompanied Leon.

He shook his head sorrowfully, "No. No, sorry. You don't want to come to this one."

She looked thoroughly confused but dismissed the subject there and then, and watched television and played cards for the following few hours before they all left to go to their 'sort of race', leaving her alone in the house.

* * *

2:30 AM. Too late to find anything interesting on TV, and Anita did not have enough energy to search through the messy piles of tapes on the entertainment center, so she decided to fix herself some salsa con queso with chips and head upstairs to read or flip through old magazines before heading to bed.

It was halfway through her 1999 issues of Nylon Magazine that Anita heard it. A huge boom somewhere downstairs. At first she thought it had been outside, but then she heard it again. She knocked her bowl of salsa and chips over in panic while jumping up off her bed. She stood completely still and alert for the next several moments. It was constant. Someone was breaking in. Or had. It sounded like they were searching through the kitchen.

Anita's heart started beating at an irregularly quick pace, and she couldn't feel her legs. What was she supposed to do? She was all alone in the house. Her eyes flew to the window. No, she couldn't jump out; it was too far down. Her first instinct was to grab the baseball bat sitting erect in the corner of her bedroom. So she hastily snatched it up and quietly opened the door, stepping out into the dark hall. She could not see the level below from her place in the hall, so she silently slipped into Dom's bedroom. On his nightstand sat a phone, and she picked it up. Who was she going to call?

She was not good under pressure, and the number 911 was forgotten in the back of her mind as she stood there with her thumb hovering over the buttons. Mia clearly had no intention of coming home soon, and was probably sleeping next to Brian Spilner. Of course, Anita did not have Brian's number. She suspected that Dom did not have his phone turned on, and Leon and Vince had left theirs downstairs. Perhaps she should just make a run for it? Slip downstairs and out the front door to the neighbor's? Or maybe she could turn on a light to scare them? No, too risky. Then it clicked in her brain.

_It was a bright Sunday morning and Anita was standing out on the pavement of the Torrettos' garage. Jesse was standing next to her - they were taking a break from the exhausting work they were being put through, which was Brian Spilner's car. They had just ordered Vince to go get them something to drink - something non-alcoholic - when he stalked up, hands in pockets, smirk plastered on his face._

_At first Anita did not recognize him, but then her memory served her good. "Garrison?"_

"_Hey," he casually greeted her and nodded to Jesse, who nodded back, quite oblivious to who this stranger was. Anita smiled a curious smile and Kory Garrison clearly read her thoughts. "Oh, I was just passing through and I remembered your brother from the one night I decided to go to a race on this side of town. Dominic Torretto." He put emphasis on her brother's name._

_She nodded, the smile on her face growing bigger. "Well, that's nice," she commented and continued to nod. "Can I get you anything? I think I've got a pop on the way."_

_Kory shook his head, "Nah, I'm fine. Thanks, though." He scratched the back of his head and glanced at the garage behind her. "I'm sure you guys are really busy and all, so maybe we can talk some other time? I'd really like to take you out some place sometime soon, you know?" He flashed her an eager grin._

_Anita put one hand on her hip and tugged at her hair with the other. A teasing grin formed on her lips, "Are you making a pass at me, Kory Garrison?"_

_He smirked and shrugged, "I'm crap at covering it up, yeah?"_

_She nodded and agreed with him, "Yeah. Yeah, you are." His cheeks colored slightly. "But that's okay. Can I get your number or something? I'll be sure to give you a call."_

"_Oh, yeah! Do you have a pen I could borrow?" she searched her back pocket for one and handed him a blue, ballpoint pen. As he wrote his number on her hand, she bit on her bottom lip, trying her best to conceal a smirk that she was sure made her look a heck of a lot like Mia._

_As he crossed the road and got into a lighter blue Honda of some sort, Anita called after him, "I'll call you!"_

_She had copied his number onto a piece of paper, which she stuck…_

Anita frantically crossed the hall back to her bedroom and searched the floor for the pair of jeans she had been wearing that day. She found them and found the piece of paper the back pocket. Unfolding it, she dialed the number desperately and listened to it ring twice.

A lazy voice on the other end answered, "Yo."

"Kory? Kory Garrison?" she replied a little loudly.

"Yeah?"

She could not contain her extreme feeling of thanks, and she burst out into tears. "It's, um, it's Anita. Anita Torretto. Listen, I've got a problem. Can you come over real quick?"

"Um…" there was a shuffling and he came back, "Yeah, sure. I know where you live. I'll be over in a while." His voice was calm and still full of grogginess.

"No, you gotta make it real quick. Please. Kory, I think someone's breaking into my house." She said it all really fast, but he heard her clearly.

"Oh. OH. Shit. I'll be right over."

Anita held on to the phone tightly, still holding the baseball bat in the other hand, and waited in the soft glow of her dim lamp. After about five minutes, she cropped the door open and poked her head out, listening closely. There was no noise whatsoever throughout the house. There was no movement in the hall either, so she assumed however had broken in left. The next ten minutes were absolute hell for her. She tried her best to keep her tears of anxiety and distress at bay, but was failing horribly, and her knuckles were starting to hurt from gripping the bat so tightly. She shut her eyes tight and talked to herself mentally, telling herself it would be over soon enough.

She jumped about a foot off the ground when she heard the doorbell ring. She opened her eyes and gripped the bat more tightly as she carefully made her way down the stairs. She trusted her instincts, and her instincts told her it was indeed Kory ringing the doorbell over and over again. Just as she reached for the door, it flung open, revealing a tall, shadowy figure pointing a gun. Anita raised the baseball bat and let out a high-shrieked scream, ready to swing.

The figure shouted out of fright too and shouted, "It's me!" and lowered his gun.

Anita reached along the wall and flicked the porch light on, proving it was indeed Kory. Never in her life, except maybe the time she had been abducted by Johnny Tran, had she been so happy to see another human being. She flung the baseball bat down on the floor and flung herself at Kory, tightly wrapping her arms around his waist. She burst out in tears once more.

He returned the hug or whatever grateful gesture this was and tried to shush her as she sobbed into his shirt. Carefully he slipped his gun into his back pocket and reached around the corner to turn on the light inside the house. Slowly he moved inside, Anita still attached to his chest like a leech, and shut the door behind him.

She raised her face, which was red and tear-stained, and her hair was slightly disheveled. Her eyes were wide as she hoarsely whispered, "What if they're still here?"

Kory felt like laughing at her, but he didn't. "Where'd they break in?" Anita pointed down the hall toward the kitchen. Kory drew his gun once more and edged down the dark hall, reaching for a light as he went. When he made it to the kitchen, still pointing his gun, he flipped on the light, revealing a very disarrayed crime scene.

Dishes were shattered on the floor, the refrigerator was open, food tossed on the floor, two packs of beer missing, things knocked off the counters, the cupboards open and missing their contents. The back door was wide open, but the criminal or criminals were long gone.

Anita slowly edged around Kory and gaped at what was once her somewhat tidy kitchen. Her jaw dropped, and as she stood there, she wondered if they had found the family's secret stash of money, which was in a cigar box stowed behind the cookie jar in the top cupboard. Anita lunged forward and climbed onto the counter, searching through that particular cupboard. She found the cigar box with its top off and missing. It was entirely empty. She and her siblings had saved up at least eight hundred dollars in that cigar box. She lightly tossed it aside and turned back to the room. She hopped down and leaned against the stove. It was all too much.

She sunk down to the floor and sobbed into her knees. "This is all my fault. Dom's gonna kill me. I left the fucking back door unlocked," she stated to Kory, who was still standing in the doorway.

Kory moved forward, avoiding stepping on any broken glass, and crouched down next to her. "Nah, it's not your fault." She shook her head in protest and continued to cry. "Hey, shh, it's okay. C'mon, stand up." He took her by the arm and helped her up, leading her out of the kitchen.

He set his gun down on the coffee table and turned on a lamp in the living room. Anita stood there looking lost and extremely worn out. He felt deeply sorry for her, despite how little he knew about her. "C'mere." He motioned for her to hug him again, and she did. She cried into his shoulder for a little longer, but eventually his soft rocking motions soothed her nerves and she could focus clearly once more.

She pulled away after a long ten minutes or so and sat down on the couch. Kory sat down next to her and asked, "You okay now?" She nodded and gave him a small smile. After a moment of silence, she gave him a goofy grin and said through a raspy voice, "Who carries a gun in their back pocket, anyway?"

Kory broke out in laughter and shrugged, "Me, I guess. What's so funny about it?"

Anita smiled and the faint tears in her eyes seemed to disappear, "Nothing. I just thought it was a little funny that you came in here with a gun in your back pocket."

He smirked and raised an eyebrow, commenting, "For your information, it's in my pants," he turned and pointed to blue jeans, where the gun was sticking out, "not my pocket."

"Oh," she replied, but the smile did not wear off. She was quiet again, but came back with, "I'm sorry I woke you up."

Kory waved her off, "Nah, you didn't wake me up. I was reading."

She wrinkled up her nose, "_You_ read?"

"Yeah, why not?"

"What do you read?"

He answered shortly, "Plath."

"_You _read Plath?" she inquired, a tone of disbelief rising in her voice.

Kory nodded, "Yeah, I read Plath. And you can stop emphasizing the word 'you'. It makes me sound like an idiot."

Anita lowered her eyes, "Sorry. I've just never met anyone who stays up this late reading Plath besides me. It's kind of cool."

He leaned back on the couch, "Oh yeah? Plath's a little out of genre for me, to be honest. I'm more into Hemingway and the science fiction."

"Really? I'm into Hemingway too!" Her face was brightly lit with enthusiasm now, but then she wrinkled up her nose, "Can't agree with you on the science fiction, though."

"Oh, c'mon. It's not actually that bad once you get past the fact that half of the stuff that happens in sci-fi books can't actually happen." He shrugged. "Besides, it's the only way I get action. The only action novel that I've read that _actually_ has action-y action was _Fight Club_. And that's a given since the word 'fight' is right in the title." Kory smirked at Anita, whose eyes were completely lit up with interest at his every word.

She nodded and grinned a toothy grin. "Yeah, I hear ya on that. I just…" She scratched the back of her head. "I just can't believe you calmed me down with books. The last person to calm me down with books was my dad, and I was really little then."

Kory shrugged his shoulders and replied, "It's a gift I've always had. The gift of being able to calm people down. And the gift of books. And the gift of putting them together to make an unbeatable combination."

"Is that so?"

"Yeah." Kory kept on smirking at her in a way that made him look extremely charming.

Anita blinked and shook her head. "What?" Kory asked. "What?"

"I think you're full of shit, Garrison, that's what," she smoothly retorted.

There was a strained silence between the two before Kory chuckled and drawled out, "Yeah…you caught me."

"Did I?" Anita grinned and felt satisfied with herself.

"Yeah, I saw one of Plath's books on the table by the stairs." He pulled another sheepish grin and waited for Anita's response.

"You big fat liar! Liar, liar, pants on fire." Anita punched him lightly in the ribs. Kory fake punched her back in the shoulder, and then the two began playfully harassing each other. Kory leaned over to tickle Anita, and she giggled uncontrollably. "Stop! Stop! STOP, PLEASE! Ah! Kory GARRISON!"

"ANITA TORRETTO!"

"PLEASE, STOP!" Anita's stomach hurt from all the laughing, but she could not stop, nor could she breathe. "Kory!"

Kory laughed himself and made her an offer as he continued to tickle her squirming body, "I'll stop if you give me something in return."

Anita kicked her feet and spat out, "Anything! Ow! Anything!"

He stopped and put his hands down at his sides, allowing Anita to recover. "A kiss," he stated. "Gimme a kiss."

She got her breathing rate back to normal and lowly mumbled, "You twerp," and playfully slapped him on the arm. But Kory just sat there with his eyebrows raised at her. "Oh, fine," she said and leaned forward, putting her hands on his knees. He titled his head to the side and pressed his lips to hers. His hands automatically went to her cheeks, and Anita sunk into the kiss.

For a few moments Leon and the situation in the kitchen were forgotten, and Anita kissed Garrison feverishly as their hands roamed each other's bodies. The kiss was interrupted, however, when the back door slammed open and Dom's and the others' voices were heard chatting loudly until they saw the mess in the kitchen. Dom shouted, "Oh, shit! What the fuck?"

Vince bellowed, "Who the hell did this? Goddamn!"

Anita quickly pulled away from Kory and stood up, immediately rushing to the kitchen doorway.

Letty, Jesse, and Leon soon followed Vince and Dom into the messy scene, all with reactions similar to Dom's and Vince's. Anita caught her brother's attention and spoke in a shaky voice, "Dom…someone broke in when I was upstairs. I heard them when I was looking at magazines and…" Dom stepped over broken glass and other assorted things toward her. "They stole the money from the cigar box, Dom." She was on the verge of tears again. Dom was obviously overcome with anger but still looked as though he might hug his little sister until Kory came up behind her, asking, "Who is it?"

Dom's face flickered with surprise and then even more anger. He burst out yelling, "Who the fuck are you?" He lunged at Garrison, who looked absolutely terrified.

"Dom, no! DOM, STOP IT! LEAVE HIM ALONE!" Dom had Garrison up against the wall, his hand threatening to close around his throat. Anita grabbed Dom's arm and screamed, "LEAVE HIM ALONE! HE CAME TO HELP ME! LET HIM GO!"

Dominic let go of Garrison, who doubled over coughing. Anita glared at her brother, who stared back and fourth between Anita and Garrison. "Did he get here before or after this fucking mess was made?"

"After," Anita whispered. She shook her head at Dominic and crouched down to see Kory. "You okay?"

Garrison nodded and rubbed his neck, "Yeah. I'll be fine." He gathered to his feet and glanced at Dom. "Sorry, man. I didn't mean to cause any problems." He staggered and began to edge out of the room toward the front door.

Dominic called after him, "Hey man, get back here." Kory stuck his head back in. "Sorry about, you know, choking you." He glanced at Anita, who ushered for him to continue. "Any friend of my sister's is a friend of mine." He held out his hand for Garrison to shake. Kory ogled at it for a moment but took it and made amends with Dom.

"Hey, I can help you clean this up if you want," Kory offered to Dom. But Dom waved him off. "No. Thanks, but no thanks. It's not your problem." Kory nodded and Anita led him out of the kitchen toward the front door.

"I'm so sorry about that. I didn't know he'd…try to kill you." Anita hung her head as she spoke to Kory. Kory shrugged and chuckled, "Hey, it's okay. I understand."

Anita smiled and reached up to put her arms around his neck for a hug. Kory put his arms around her waist and returned the hug. She kissed him on the cheek and handed him his gun before he opened the door and departed. Anita turned and slowly headed back to the kitchen, but a shadow on the steps stopped her.

Leon stood there and glared hotly at her - even in the dark she could tell it was an angry stare. He had seen her hug and kiss Garrison at the door, and for some reason she did not doubt that he assumed much more had happened before he and the others arrived. Anita tried to call out to him, "Leon…" but he ignored her and finished his way down the stairs and into the kitchen to help clean up.

Then, even after she had found a new sanctuary in the company of Garrison, Anita felt like shit for letting Leon down. She felt guilty, and she knew she'd have a fun time trying to patch up things with Leon and staying friends with Garrison at the same time.

**Author's End Note: **My ending sucks. Oh well. It's a new chapter for you!


End file.
